Liverpool blitz past Newcastle in £80m chase as star ‘tells friends’ his ideal next move

Liverpool have overtaken Newcastle United in the race for Crystal Palace star Marc Guehi as the defender is looking to move to Anfield next year, a report has claimed.

According to Football Insider, Guehi has ‘told friends’ he wants to join a truly elite Premier League side when leaving Crystal Palace, putting Liverpool in pole position. The centre-back supposedly ‘believes he can do better than Newcastle’, with the Magpies still some way off challenging the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal for the title.

Newcastle submitted four offers for Guehi during the summer transfer window but never managed to meet Palace’s £75million (€90m / $97m) valuation.

Football Insider claim that if Guehi had pushed for a move to St James’ Park, then Palace would have been more inclined to accept Newcastle’s last offer.

However, the England star was never fully set on joining Newcastle, which is why he did not get involved and instead let the situation play out.

Guehi is now ‘holding out for a move to a top-four club’ and is ‘particularly keen’ on Liverpool amid their great start under Dutch coach Arne Slot.

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Liverpool, Newcastle battle heating up

Last week, TEAMtalk revealed that Newcastle remain determined to sign the player and are mobilising ahead of holding January talks. But if this suggestion from Football Insider is to be believed, then Newcastle could face problems as Liverpool watch on.

Palace have increased Guehi’s price tag from £75m to £80m (€96m / $104m), due to his standing as one of the best centre-backs in the league.

Guehi has been earmarked as a potential successor to Virgil van Dijk in the Liverpool backline, with the Dutchman now 33 years old.

But the Selhurst Park favourite may have to deal with squad rotation if he heads to Liverpool next year. The Reds are engaged in contract talks with Van Dijk – with the captain having set out his demands – while they also have Ibrahima Konate in their team.

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Anfield news: Alexander-Arnold verdict; Atletico Madrid rumour

Meanwhile, former Man Utd assistant manager and chief scout Mick Brown has weighed in on the future of Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold.

“I’m told he wants to go to Madrid,” Brown said. “From the player’s point of view, a move to Real Madrid will always appeal.

“The manager there already knows him from his days on Merseyside. And if his contract situation is such that it allows him to explore a deal in January, I’ve heard there’s a very strong possibility that a move will happen.

“If you took Real Madrid out of the equation, any talk over his exit would be a non-story. Liverpool don’t want him to go and he wouldn’t want to move. But you throw Madrid into the running and all of a sudden it all changes.”

He added: “I fully expect that move to happen, and as much as Liverpool will want him to stay, turning down the chance to become a Galactico at Madrid would be too much to ask.”

Elsewhere, reports in Spain claim that Liverpool are spying different midfielders after missing out on Martin Zubimendi over the summer and are now interested in Atletico Madrid’s Pablo Barrios.

The 21-year-old is emerging as an important player for Atleti, but his top performances have alerted Liverpool scouts.

The Reds have shown ‘marked interest’ in Barrios and believe there is a deal to be done in summer 2025. Atleti are hoping to keep the Spain U21 international but will be powerless to stop his exit if Liverpool match his €50m (£42m / $54m) release clause.