Glasner wins Guehi transfer battle at Liverpool’s expense – how deal fell through

The last-minute collapse of Marc Guehi’s transfer to Liverpool is a story rooted in brinksmanship.

Who won a poker game, and why? That is down to opinion.

Oliver Glasner, the manager of Crystal Palace, is undoubtedly the saga’s biggest winner. The Austrian got what he wanted all along – to keep his captain despite the financial ramifications on the club who have now lost a £35m cash injection with Guehi set to leave for nothing next summer.

In that regard, Glasner, of course, has nothing to lose. He has less than 12 months left on his contract at Selhurst Park and has so far fallen short of signing an extension despite the club’s efforts to renew.

He won’t be able to feel the disruption Guehi’s departure and the difficulties of replacing him without paying an incoming transfer fee, as it stands.

You might be wondering if losing Guehi against his wishes would have been the last straw after Glasner has openly criticised the club for their lack of summer transfer activity.

Palace chairman Steve Parish has helped appease his manager’s very public angst by keeping the central defender despite agreeing to sell Guehi to Liverpool earlier on deadline day.

The impact of Liverpool’s eventual failure to land Guehi will become clearer in time.

Do they have a short central defender? There will certainly be a heavier burden on Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate – who limped off injured against Arsenal on Sunday – and Joe Gomez plus summer acquisition Giovanni Leoni, who is just 18.

Guehi, who played by the rules this summer but was unable to make his move to the Premier League champions, is the real protagonist of this entire story.

That, of course, has arrived as a source of frustration for the 25-year-old.

However, it would not be entirely accurate to say Guehi is the loser in this twist-and-turn story.

From a footballing perspective, he will continue to play regular first-team football at Palace – with Konate and Van Dijk at Liverpool that may not necessarily have been the case at Anfield.

That is priceless in a World Cup year.

But, perhaps most pertinently of all, Guehi can dictate his own future. An unpaid England international available for the summer. That is a rarity.

A number of Europe’s top clubs have already expressed an interest in signing Guehi next summer, and he can start signing for a European side in January.

All of England’s top clubs have also been on the phone. Guehi’s personal earning power will be significantly higher than it was this year when he moves on a free transfer.

Liverpool gave consideration to a move for him last summer but ultimately fell short of proceeding with their interest.

However, they continued to work on making Guehi a Liverpool player after the season. They view him as someone who can play alongside captain Van Dijk. There is a sense at Anfield that Guehi will eventually become Liverpool’s main central defender as the Dutchman turns 35 in July.

Towards the end of last season, Liverpool – privately – made their intentions clear: they wanted to sign Guehi.

Due to the unresolved questions surrounding Konate’s future, a portion of that choice was made. The France defender is out of contract at the end of the season and is yet to commit to a new deal.

Instead of waiting until 2026 when he was free, it was decided that Liverpool would discuss Guehi with Palace.

They knew Parish was a tough negotiator. During discussions regarding Mamadou Sakho’s move from Anfield to Selhurst Park in January 2017, Liverpool’s football chief, Michael Edwards, is rumored to have had first-hand knowledge of Parish’s tense negotiation style.

By all accounts, Liverpool’s dealings with Palace over Christian Benteke’s move from Merseyside to London six months earlier was not straight forward either.

As a result, Guehi’s failed proposed move to Newcastle last summer, which saw Parish reject a deal worth up to £65 million after a number of the Magpies’ bids were turned down, served as additional warning.

Nevertheless, Jarrell Quansah’s move to Bayer Leverkusen made Liverpool’s decision for them with regards to moving for Guehi.

There were indications that the occasion could be used to negotiate a deal with Guehi at the time, but it is now understood that no significant discussions took place at Wembley.

However, speaking after Palace’s victory, Parish opened the door to Liverpool’s approach by publicly declaring that he would have no choice but to consider letting Guehi leave given his contractual situation.

Sources have indicated that Liverpool approached them with an informal £35 million offer.

To Liverpool’s surprise, Palace seemed receptive to the offer raising hope that their concerns of a fraught negotiation were unnecessary.

Given that the initial discussions reportedly seemed so inconvenient, Reds sporting director Richard Hughes is said to have even been preparing to have the deal approved by Liverpool’s owners Fenway Sports Group.

All that was left was for Parish to accept. Liverpool patiently waited. They waited some more.

Both clubs refused to blink. Liverpool believed their proposal was fair. It appeared that Place refused to agree.

In the meantime, Guehi was getting on with his pre-season. A minor hamstring complaint that required a scan and careful management during their training camp in Austria prevented his summer from beginning.

But Guehi knew machinations were evolving in private. Glasner did as well, and his messaging to Guehi hasn’t changed in the summer.

The Palace boss wanted Guehi to stay. Guehi was his team’s captain and a key member, and his stance was understandable, of course.

Glasner’s contract also expires in the summer and the manager wanted them to ride the wave of uncertainty together.

Guehi was unable to make a decision at the time.

Liverpool had not made a bid but he knew it was coming and was clear with his messaging to Glasner that, if the Reds did formalise their interest, it was something he would like to consider.

Guehi, however, did not faze. It is not his style. He has never taken that responsibility lightly because he is the club’s captain.

Equally, however, Guehi did not need to force the issue. He was completing his 12-month contract.

It is likely the option of joining Liverpool next season will still be available to him, the fact he would be on a free transfer means he would earn significantly more.

Guehi was offered a new contract by Palace in an effort to fix the problem, but the defender turned down.

By this point, it was one a club market. According to BBC Sport, Tottenham conducted a water test to see if Guehi would be interested in joining Thomas Frank’s inaugural season in charge.

Following Palace’s Europa Conference League qualifying game in Frederikstad last Thursday, negotiations brokered, with the goal of resuming the club-to-club impasse.

There was a clear view emerging last Friday night that all parties wanted to conclude a deal.

By including a 10% sell-on clause in their previous £35 million offer, Liverpool improved. Palace made a counter proposal of £35m plus an extra £5m in add-ons.

On Sunday, Palace faced Aston Villa, but negotiations were so quickly moving that Guehi was even considering taking the option of taking the game to Birmingham.

A farewell video had already filmed and edited such was the likelihood that Guehi would be leaving.

Guehi boarded the flight, but the squad was departing for the Midlands at 10am on Sunday.

In the meantime, Palace tried to persuade Liverpool to include Joe Gomez on loan in the deal for Guehi. The proposal was rejected by Liverpool.

Eventually, Guehi played in the game at Villa Park and scored a brilliant goal in their 3-0 win. It sounded like the ideal goodbye note.

Guehi’s team-mates even implored him to bid farewell to Palace supporters on the pitch, but the defender refused and maintained his composure.

It appeared soon that Guehi’s career at Palace was about to end.

But Glasner threw a spanner in the works, saying after the game that the club needed to keep Guehi if they were to have a successful season.

Guehi travelled back to London with the Palace squad on Sunday night.

If Liverpool and Palace could come to terms with a deal, Guehi would go for a medical, complete his paperwork, and then head north for his official unveiling.

Between 1.30pm and 3pm, a club-to-club agreement had been concluded and Guehi was given permission by Palace to undergo his medical.

Guehi initially assumed that he was joining the Premier League champions, who were also set to confirm Alexander Isak’s acquisition for £125 million. He had a medical which was over an hour long.

However, after a fitness class at a Soho gym, Parish and Guehi and his advisers didn’t get to sit down with them until after 6pm.

Little was Guehi to know that the rug would be pulled from under him, shortly after.

Prior to letting Guehi leave, Palace needed suitable defensive replacements, among other requirements for him to join Liverpool.

They have completed the signing of Toulouse centre-back Jaydee Canvot. However, the Frenchman has a lot of experience at the age of 19.

Palace approached Manchester City for Manuel Akanji but he was reluctant to move to south London.

The club had first choice when Ousmane Diomande of Sporting, but his £45 million price tag was prohibitive. Roma defender Evan Ndicka was another they considered.

However, it became clear that they were discussing a loan move for Brighton’s Igor Julio on deadline day.

At one point in the day, it looked as if a deal for Julio was in place only for the player to head east to West Ham.

And with that detour, Guehi’s move to Liverpool was ineffective.

Adam Wharton, who has a groin issue, and Ismaila Sarr, who has injured his hamstring, are both expected to be out for at least a month, which did not help matters.

As we approached the 7pm deadline, there was still a chance to revive the deal, and it was clear that a deal sheet, an extension application, had been submitted, which indicated how close the transfer was getting to its goal.

But sometimes it is the hope that kills. Despite agreeing to do so just hours earlier, Parish explained to Guehi why he was unable to sanction his move to Liverpool.