- Liverpool missed out on Guehi signing
- Crystal Palace pulled plug late on
- Carragher fears it could cost Liverpool
Guehi, 25, was on the brink of joining the Reds on transfer deadline day after they agreed a £35 million fee (€40.5m/$47m) with Crystal Palace for the defender. However despite undergoing a medical with Liverpool, Palace pulled the plug at the last moment following reports that manager Oliver Glasner threatened to quit should the transfer go through without his side securing a replacement.
And while Carragher believes Liverpool remain firm favourites for the Premier League despite missing out on Guehi, he says the club will now be sweating on the fitness of defensive duo Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk in their pursuit of a second successive title in 2025-26.
Speaking to The Overlap Podcast, Carragher – who made 737 appearances for Liverpool – said: “Might they [Liverpool] regret that [missing out on Guehi]? Listen, they are three games in, nine points from nine and probably not played that well, so we would probably all say they are big favourites, Liverpool. But that is the one area [defence] where that could come back and blow up in their face because they haven’t really got that [cover]. What Guehi was getting was giving Liverpool competition at centre-back. They haven’t really got that. They’ve got two starters and two understudies.
“Joe Gomez, injury-prone himself, and the young lad from Italy [Giovanni Leoni], he is going to be a great prospect, but if you think if one of them had to play for a couple of months, it is a big difference.”
Guehi showed no signs of lingering frustration over his scuppered Liverpool move after starring in England‘s victories over Andorra and Serbia during the international break. The former Chelsea centre-back started both games and scored his first Three Lions goal in the thumping 5-0 win over Serbia on Tuesday.
Guehi is expected to start when Palace return to Premier League action against Sunderland at Selhurst Park on Saturday. Meanwhile Liverpool are hoping to make it four wins from as many league games when they travel to Burnley on Sunday.
