Marc Guehi and Antoine Semenyo are both being linked with transfers to Liverpool, but if you could only have one this January who would you choose?
Marc Guehi was close to joining Liverpool in January(Image: Getty Images)
Jamie Carragher feels that Liverpool have to sign a centre-back in January to avoid the Reds’ season going even further off the rails. But there is a tempting alternative.
We all know how close Liverpool came to capturing Marc Guehi on transfer deadline day, and they are hotly tipped to go back in with another approach for the Crystal Palace and England defender when the window opens again. But what if the best form of title defence was attack?
The prospect of a January move for Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo has reared its head in recent days, and while Liverpool do have the squad space and the money to be able to sign both Semenyo and Guehi this winter, what if you could only have one?
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We asked our ECHO reporters what they would do.
Theo Squires
There would be something ‘very Liverpool’ about the Reds signing Antoine Semenyo. A proven Premier League forward in fine form, only just coming into his peak years and available for a cut-price fee thanks to a transfer release clause. It would be a shrewd move if he were to be added to Arne Slot’s ranks in January.
But as exciting as shiny new forwards are, if it is a choice of Semenyo or Marc Guehi, for example, Liverpool have to prioritise the latter.
They have not been at their best defensively this season for a variety of reasons and their backline needs addressing. Ibrahima Konate is struggling for form and it would be no surprise to see him move on as he heads towards the final six months of his contract.
Not as comfortable on the ball as some of his team-mates, it is a weakness that continues to get exploited by opponents and is something the Reds need to address.
Elsewhere, Joe Gomez appears unfancied by Slot and would likely have left in the summer if a swoop for Guehi had not collapsed on transfer deadline day. Virgil van Dijk will be 35 ahead of the start of next season when heading into the final year of his own deal and Giovanni Leoni is out for the season with an ACL injury.
Down to three available senior centre-backs following the loss of the Italian, Liverpool clearly need to bolster their ranks in the short term, with further recruitment also needed at the back going forward.
Guehi has been one of the standout defenders in the Premier League so far this season and was so close to joining the Reds back in September. While his arrival might not fix all their woes this season, he would at least help aid matters.
I would argue that Liverpool would benefit from signing Semenyo too, having not signed a direct replacement for Luis Diaz. The Ghanaian’s pace, power, work-rate and versatility are all attributes that would certainly add to the current ranks.
But Slot at least already has Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Federico Chiesa, Jeremie Frimpong and Rio Ngumoha to select on the flanks without any new arrival. An injury on the wings would not, at this point, be catastrophic.
But one more injury at the heart of defence and the Reds are looking at a crisis. While they would benefit from a new forward, they desperately need another centre-back.
Mark Jones
He wouldn’t have cured all the ills we’ve seen in defence this season, but as time has gone by missing out on Marc Guehi has looked more and more of a damaging blow for Liverpool.
Guehi is by no means the perfect defender – and sure enough when it looked as though the Reds were going to sign him back in the summer there were plenty of people willing to point out the flaws in his game – but he is a Premier League proven performer at a time when the division is at its most unforgiving. His leadership would have been most welcome the past couple of months.
So I think the summer interest simply has to be followed up with a winter deal, not least because Liverpool will want to look as though they remain true to their word where transfers are concerned.
As far as they saw it the summer deal for Guehi was as good as done before Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish got cold feet, largely because his manager Oliver Glasner appeared to set to walk out if the England defender was allowed to go.
Things will have surely calmed down now, Glasner and Parish will have had chance to line up a replacement, and while Palace won’t want Guehi to leave they also know that he’ll be out of the door for nothing in the summer anyway. This is their last chance to cash in on him.
A move for Antoine Semenyo would be exciting, and I wouldn’t be overly surprised to see the Reds go for both in January, but in a world where they can only have one this winter then it has to be Guehi who is prioritised.
You can see what appears to be coming down the tracks where Ibrahima Konate in concerned, while Joe Gomez’s future is forever unclear and Virgil van Dijk will be 35 at the end of the season. Good centre-backs need to be added, and added quickly.