After a heartbreaking Euros final for England, which pushed an entire nation into mourning, the silver lining that emerged was the performances of certain players who, despite people questioning why they had initially made the squad, cemented themselves as some of the nation’s best performers during the tournament.
One of those individuals was Marc Guéhi, the Crystal Palace defender, who was arguably England’s best player in Germany, with many praising how solid his partnership was with Manchester City’s John Stones, especially with the relationship being fresh due to Harry Maguire’s absence due to injury.
The 24-year old’s world class performances did not go unnoticed as Liverpool’s interest in the defender was “confirmed” by journalist Fabrizio Romano, who stated on his show: "Marc Guehi has been linked with Liverpool. I can tell you that Liverpool have been scouting the player for a long time. He's a player they like, for sure.”
This comes after the departure of fans' favourite Joel Matip, whose contract expired at the end of last season. The bond and combined efforts of Matip and Virgil van Dijk was famous not just in England but across Europe with the pair taking the club to new heights in recent years.
Currently Liverpool have three solid centre back options in van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and fresh-faced Jarrel Quansah, with the latter being a shining example of how an academy graduate can become a fierce force at the back if surrounded by elite experience. A trio of stoppers however is not enough to compete in every competition the club finds themselves in - which is why Guehi’s name is now floating around the press.
The Eagles man is extremely physical, has tons of pace and has already proven himself as Premier League quality over the past few seasons. But there is one thing that Liverpool should consider before it places a bid of what would be over £50m.
Jarrel Quansah, as mentioned, has emerged to be a major success story from the club’s academy integration. And with the summer window wide open and new manager Arne Slot looking to forge a team that suits his style of play, it is likely that another breakthrough may occur that offsets the potential Guehi transfer.
One fantastic example of this is Sepp van den Berg, who enjoyed an impressive loan in the Bundesliga with FSV Mainz last season. Van den Berg surprisingly emerged as a fans' favourite after he put in a host of great performances, becoming one of the league’s top performing defenders.
Van den Berg is just 22 years old and if given a true chance this season could become the next player to step up into a Liverpool side and prove to many that the club does not need to splash the cash to improve the squad.
One other rudimentary example is club veteran Joe Gomez, who last season adapted to being a left back due to the injuries of Andrew Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas. Many were nervy about how he would perform in this role, but the defender effortlessly took it on, appearing 50 times last season and even bagging 3 assists.
Gomez can now brag that he can play anywhere across the Reds backline, something that no other defender in the squad can say. Now, at 27 years old, in his prime and with the return of the club's regular full backs, it is a tough situation for the defender who put his pen to paper almost a decade ago when signing from Charlton Athletic.
The links to Guehi in recent days are exciting for any Liverpool supporter, any new signing is, but current squad members such as Quansah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Harvey Elliott, Curtis Jones and many more are all lessons in how promoting from within, believing in those young assets, can pay dividends despite a similar option being available on the market.