With Jarell Quansah‘s departure to Bayer Leverkusen and Ibrahima Konaté‘s uncertain signing of a new contract, Liverpool may be short of centre-backs within 12 months.
With these concerns, the media has begun discussing the potential addition of Marc Guéhi to the defensive ranks.
Crystal Palace rejected bids from Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur during the summer and winter transfer windows of last season, with the highest bid being £70 million.
The rejection of these bids means Crystal Palace will miss out on receiving another big-money bid because Guéhi’s contract expires next summer.
The media talks indicate that Liverpool are keen on Guéhi and hope to scoop him up for £35-40m.
This price could be lower if Liverpool decide to add a player trade to the deal, which has been rumoured.
This potential transfer would be excellent for both Guéhi and Liverpool.
Our scout report and player analysis will highlight Marc Guéhi style of play as a central defender, alongside comparisons to the current Reds centre-half pairing (Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté).
The analysis will also explore the possibility of Marc Guéhi signing and Konaté agreeing to a new contract, as well as how both players can be utilised together on the same team.
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Marc Guéhi Style Of Play
Marc Guéhi is an England international despite being born in the Ivory Coast.
He began his professional career at Chelsea but did not make a Premier League appearance for the club.
While under contract with the Blues, he was loaned out to Swansea City.
In 2021, Guéhi left Chelsea to join Crystal Palace for £18 million, where he still plays and was appointed club captain at the beginning of last season.
Despite only being 24 years old, Guéhi has cemented himself as a recognised Premier League defender at Palace, making 132 appearances since 2022.
He has become a key international player for England, having made 32 appearances.
Therefore, Liverpool know they will be getting a player who understands the league and will be able to start on the front foot if the transfer happens.
Marc Guéhi Stats
In his first season as captain, he played in 34 of the 38 Premier League matches for Palace, keeping 11 clean sheets, scoring three goals, and providing two assists.
Analysing the graphic above, Marc Guéhi has multiple metrics that stand out in each area of the chart.
As expected, he has a well above-average result in four out of five defensive metrics.
In addition to having great defensive metrics, Guéhi is also above average in the same number of attacking metrics as defensive ones.
In relation to his positional peers across the European top-five leagues in 2024/2025, he performed above average for defensive duels per 90 and percentage won, aerial duels per 90, and also in the positioning metric.
Guéhi put up impressive numbers in goal contribution per 90 (88th percentile) and dribbles per 90 (91st percentile).
These numbers indicate that Guéhi is a strong defender who gets stuck in tackles and has good awareness of his position to win the ball back successfully.
This helped Crystal Palace finish 12th in the league and win their first major trophy in history, the FA Cup.
He also displayed confidence on the ball, dribbling up the pitch to move the team forward.
Despite being a defender, Guéhi also made a number of attacking passes from his position, ranking well above average in progressive passes per 90 (70th percentile) and just over average in dangerous passes per 90 (56th percentile).
However, his passing accuracy ranked in the 19th percentile, suggesting that not every pass he attempts reaches the intended target.
This is an area that needs improvement if he wants to progress to a top-level club.
Meanwhile, the one defensive question is his ability to win aerial battles.
His ranking is below average (35th percentile), which could indicate a weakness in his defensive game that needs improvement.
In total, Guéhi is a solid defender for Europe’s top leagues and possesses the ability to initiate attacking phases from his deeper position.
Marc Guéhi Strengths
Now, let’s take a closer look at some of Marc Guéhi’s qualities that make him a top player in the Premier League and have attracted attention from some of the league’s top clubs, including Liverpool, Newcastle United, and Tottenham Hotspur.
Marc Guéhi Passing Ability
As mentioned earlier in the article, Guéhi ranks above average in his passing metrics, such as progressive passes and dangerous passes.
Last season, Crystal Palace’s system involved a 5-2-3 formation when out of possession and a 3-4-3 formation when in possession.
Guéhi often played either as the centre of the back three or the left centre-back.
In possession, the centre-backs spread across the pitch, and the midfielders drop into the gaps in front to receive the ball on the half-turn.
In the image above, we can see Oliver Glasner‘s possession system.
The image shows Guéhi spread across the box with his centre-back partners, with a direct progressive pass into Adam Wharton in the midfield.
This past performance highlights Guéhi’s progressive passing ability and his confidence in his ability to provide a crisp pass, enabling Wharton to take the ball on the half-turn.
The pass from Guéhi is a good line-breaking pass, as it takes out two Manchester City players simultaneously and launches a potential attack.
Alongside his progressive passes, Guéhi has an eye for the long-range switch pass, which is very similar to the way Van Dijk sprays the ball about from the same position for Liverpool.
In the image above, the pass from Guéhi opens up another opportunity for Palace to try to get behind the rigid Nottingham Forest structure.
Again, we see another image of Guéhi performing another long-range diagonal pass, this time against Arsenal.
When a player is able to execute a pass like this, it gives the team a different dimension to their attacks and also means quick counter-attacks can be utilised when needed.
Therefore, if Guéhi were to join Van Dijk as his defensive partner, then Liverpool would be able to have both centre-backs comfortably switch the ball to either winger.
Marc Guéhi Awareness
Awareness is a key component in football, no matter what position you play.
As a centre-back, it is an important asset.
Here, we can see Brighton & Hove Albion on the attack.
Notice Guéhi is the deepest defender, already anticipating the run from the winger and the pass inside his full-back.
Guéhi is already preparing himself to cover the space.
As the pass is played, Guéhi is already on the move to intercept the pass and stop any chance of scoring on his goal.
The awareness Guéhi shows enables him to get his body into the correct position to make the covering run, and his anticipation of the pass allows him to set up with enough time to cover even if the Brighton player reaches the ball.
The move ends with the ball being overhit and running out of play, but we can see that he has covered the ground to make himself first to the ball, even if the weight was right.
Marc Guéhi: Defensive Positioning & Duels
Below are clips of some of Guéhi’s defensive clearances, which demonstrate that he understands what position he needs to be in to make a clearance and protect his goal.
— Footie Clips (@FootieClips) July 4, 2025
These clips show his willingness to be strong and his understanding of his position, which allows him to make a defensive impact.
The following clips highlight his defensive duels, his timing and decision-making regarding when to make the tackle, and his composure when picking out a pass if he wins the ball back.
— Footie Clips (@FootieClips) July 4, 2025
These clips highlight Guéhi’s ability to win defensive duels and successfully regain possession for his team.
All of the clips above demonstrate why Guéhi would be a good asset to any team he joins.
He is willing to be strong in tackles and has the right understanding of where he needs to position himself to benefit his team.
Marc Guéhi Comparison To Current Liverpool Centre-Back Pairing
If Guéhi were to sign for Liverpool, he would face a real challenge breaking into the starting XI in the current 4-2-3-1 formation that Arne Slot plays.
The challenge facing Guéhi is securing a spot in the team ahead of either Van Dijk or Konaté.
The quality of Van Dijk indicates that the space next to him is the one up for grabs, especially with Konaté’s contract situation.
Let’s compare some data between Guéhi and the current Liverpool pairing.
Marc Guéhi Vs Ibrahima Konaté Stats
Let’s take a closer look at the statistics between Guéhi and Konaté, who will likely be the most likely player he would replace.
At first glance, it is clear that each player produces better results in certain areas.
The differences in numbers between the two players can be attributed to their roles in their current teams.
From the radar chart above, Guéhi ranks well above average in dribbles per 90 compared to Konaté, which can indicate that Guéhi has better confidence with the ball at his feet, and this would be a huge benefit for Liverpool as they haven’t had someone that will drive in to the forward vacant space since Joël Matip left the club.
The Englishmen also exceed the Frenchmen by small margins in progressive passes and defensive duels per 90 terms.
All in all, even though it can be statistically argued that Konaté is the better player, I believe that if he doesn’t sign a new contract, Guéhi would be a suitable replacement.
He is Premier League-proven and won’t break the bank, as his contract only has a year left.
Marc Guéhi Vs Virgil Van Dijk Stats
Now, let’s look at the comparisons between Guéhi and Van Dijk, who will most likely be Guéhi’s centre-back partner if he joins Liverpool.
Just as with the comparisons to Konaté, we can clearly see several metrics that differ between Marc Guéhi and Virgil van Dijk.
Comparing anyone to Van Dijk can be challenging due to his qualities as a central defender.
At first glance, we can see that Guéhi ranks better in terms of positioning, defensive duels, progressive passes, dribbles, goal contributions (GC), and expected GC.
In contrast, Van Dijk ranks better in everything else.
From the chart, it is clear to see that Guéhi’s rankings for positioning and dribbling metrics are almost double those of Van Dijk.
A higher ranking for positioning for Guéhi could be down to the amount of times he has to make tackles and interceptions compared to Van Dijk who’s team has most of the possession.
Liverpool average 57.7% whereas Crystal Palace average 42.8% during matches so no need for Van Dijk to make the same amount of tackles as Guéhi.
The dribbling metrics indicate that Guéhi is more adventurous with the ball and is willing to take risks by moving forward with it at his feet.
If Guéhi were to transfer to Liverpool, it is unlikely that he would replace Van Dijk in the team, but rather join him as his defensive partner.
I would argue that the best possible outcome for Liverpool would be agreeing to a new contract with Konaté while still adding Guéhi to the defensive ranks.
Then, the question would be whether a change in formation to three at the back is needed to accommodate the three centre-backs.
The three-at-the-back approach could be an idea for Arne Slot to consider, as Guéhi currently plays in a 5-2-3 formation under Glasner; therefore, Guéhi is familiar with a back three.
A back three is also a consideration due to Liverpool’s two new signings at full-back, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who are both attacking-minded.
Conclusion
To conclude this article, Marc Guéhi would be a good addition to the Liverpool defence even if Konaté stays.
His qualities show what type of player he is, and under the mentorship of Arne Slot and the leadership of Virgil Van Dijk, he will be able to progress to a new level of quality.
If the price for Marc Guéhi was right for Liverpool, I believe it would be a deal that shouldn’t be missed.
This will give Liverpool another dimension to their style, as they will be able to play both three and four in defence.
Even if Marc Guéhi doesn’t join Liverpool, wherever he goes —whether in the Premier League or abroad —he will strive to continue improving.
