Liverpool have agreed a deal to sign England centre-back Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace.
The 25-year-old will complete the formalities of his move, including a medical, in London on Monday before signing a long-term contract with the Premier League champions.
The deal was agreed after the clubs reached a compromise on the fee for Guehi, with Liverpool having originally tabled an offer of £35m, plus a 10 percent sell-on clause.
He is set to be Liverpool’s second major signing on transfer deadline day, after the Reds agreed a £125m deal with Newcastle for striker Alexander Isak.
Guehi captained Palace to a 3-0 win at Aston Villa on Sunday night in the last of his 162 games for the London club, scoring a spectacular second goal.
Speaking after the match he did not discuss his future.
“All I know is when you score goals like that it is always down to team performance,” he said. “People will try to single out the goal but that was a clear team performance tonight.”
Guehi has been a key target for Liverpool this summer after Jarrell Quansah left Anfield for Bayer Leverkusen.
There have also been concerns about the solidity of Liverpool’s defence after they conceded six goals in their first three games of the season.
They lost the Community Shield on penalties to Palace – who Guehi captained at Wembley – and gave up two-goal leads in the Premier League to Bournemouth and Newcastle before fighting back to win.
After also bringing in Isak, Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, Giorgi Mamardashvili, Armin Pecsi and Giovanni Leoni, the Guehi deal will take Liverpool’s spending to about £451.2m without add-on fees – the highest total in Premier League history.
It is only the second time that an English side has shelled out more than £400m in a summer window, following Chelsea’s £401.2m outlay in 2023.
Meanwhile, the departures of Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Quansah, Caoimhin Kelleher, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Tyler Morton and Ben Doak have recouped an initial amount of about £190m.
Guehi fought for Palace until the end
In the Community Shield, Guehi played brilliantly for Palace before being substituted in the final seconds with cramp. He has then performed a key role in the start of the club’s season, despite speculation about his future.
He has played 90 minutes in all six of Palace’s games across three competitions including the Conference League as the Eagles returned to Europe.
They qualified for the Conference League after beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final – the club’s first major trophy, lifted by Guehi.
But Guehi is now moving on, having entered the final year of his contract and told the club he would not renew his deal.
Guehi joined Palace from Chelsea in summer 2021 and spent four years at Selhurst Park.
He also broke into the senior England squad, and was key for the Three Lions in their run to the final of Euro 2024.
Palace have wanted two replacements in place before sanctioning Guehi’s exit.
They are set to complete the signing of Toulouse centre-back Jaydee Canvot and are working on signing another.
Palace have interest in Getafe defender Christantus Uche, who was previously a target for Wolves.
Sourse: BBC
