"They should have just paid the money" - Pundit claims Liverpool have 'blown their chances of landing' priority transfer target

Pundit Don Hutchison has criticized Liverpool for their transfer dealings, pointing out that their actions have made them miss out on Marc Guehi, their priority target. The Reds came close to signing the England international in the summer, only for the deal to fall through in the final moments of deadline day.

Hutchison spoke with Sportscasting.com, pointing out that the Reds have surely missed out on their chance of signing Guehi. He stated that they should have agreed to the demands of Crystal Palace for the centre-back and even paid more due to the value they would get from him.

“They’ve blown their chances of landing him. One million percent. I mean, I'd love to be a fly on the wall at Liverpool when they didn't get the Guehi deal done. Let's just say Crystal Palace wanted £45 million. Liverpool should have given them £50m, because they're going to have Marc Guehi for six years. They should have just paid the money", he said (via GOAL).

Marc Guehi was strongly linked with Liverpool throughout the summer after leading Crystal Palace to win the FA Cup in the 2024-25 season. The 25-year-old is in the final year of his contract with the Eagles and was keen to move to Anfield. Unable to agree a fee initially, Arne Slot's side turned their attention to 18-year-old Italian centre-back Giovanni Leoni, signing him from Parma.

The Reds returned to try and sign Guehi on deadline day, and had a £40 million bid accepted by his club. Palace, however, pulled the plug on the move at the final moment, after the centre-back had undergone a medical and recorded a farewell video.

Crystal Palace failed to sign a replacement for Guehi and decided against letting him leave, leaving the Reds with a gaping hole in their squad. Slot has only Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, and Joe Gomez as his natural centre-back options this season following Leoni's season-ending injury in September.

Liverpool legend calls out club's tactics with Mohamed Salah

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has hit out at the club's use of star forward Mohamed Salah this season. The Reds have struggled this term and look like a shadow of the brilliant team which win the Premier League in the 2024-25 season.

Carragher spoke on The Overlap with Wayne Rooney, pointing out that the way Salah is being used has to be changed. He advocated for the Egypt international to be given more defensive responsibility and be dropped for some games, especially away from home.

"If you're not scoring the goals at one end and you're leaving your team exposed at the other you're basically getting nothing from this tactical ploy of allowing Mo Salah just to stay up top. So he's either got to come back [defensively] or you've got to play someone else. That's why I said a few weeks ago the days of Mo Salah starting every week especially away from home, have to stop", he said (via ESPN).

Liverpool suffered a 3-0 humbling at the hands of Manchester City in their league encounter at the Etihad Stadium before the international break. The Reds have now lost seven of their last ten games across all competitions.

Edited by Sulayman Salahudeen