Marc Guehi joining Man City is proof Liverpool didn't deliver on Arne Slot promise

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Arne Slot will have to toe the line and pretend he isn’t bothered by Manchester City landing Marc Guehi . He will say he is happy with his Liverpool squad and won’t comment on players at other teams.

But really, the Liverpool manager should be furious. Because his team has missed out on a top-class player who could have made all the difference. A player who would have changed things instantly. And a player who would not have even broken the bank.

City have landed Guehi from Crystal Palace for a fee which could reach £30million. Liverpool splashed out around £449m in transfer fees in the summer transfer window. That number would have only gone up marginally if their £35m deadline-day deal had gone through.

The fact it collapsed is not Liverpool’s fault. Palace chairman Steve Parish got cold feet at the last minute and pulled the plug, fearing the exit of their captain, without securing a replacement, could derail the Eagles’ season. In a cruel irony, his departure could still have that effect, with manager Oliver Glasner making his feelings plain in a remarkable rant over the weekend .

Some may argue that City have overpaid for Guehi. They have shelled out £30m for a player who could have joined for free when his Palace contract expired in the summer. But Pep Guardiola has been dealing with an injury crisis in central defence and the City hierarchy acted, signing a 25-year-old international who already has oodles of Premier League experience. They are rightly delighted with the capture.

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But it is a hammer blow for Liverpool. And one which undermines Slot’s own ethos on transfers. “We would have liked to sign him, of course, because we were in for him,” Slot said in September when asked about the collapsed Guehi deal.

“Like I’ve said many times, if we feel we can strengthen the team with a chance in the market, we never hesitate to do so. That’s what we tried to do.”

Hesitating is exactly what Liverpool did this month. And not only have they missed out on the chance to strengthen their squad, they have allowed one of their closest rivals to improve theirs.

Liverpool have relied almost solely upon Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate in central defence over the past few years. The serious knee injury suffered by Giovanni Leoni was extremely unfortunate. But considering Joe Gomez’s patchy injury record, their failure to add further depth is negligence.

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He really is protesting too much. There is no way Slot is actually satisfied with the current options available to him. Surely nothing changed between September and January. So why didn’t Liverpool act?

Guehi could have been a timely boost. An undeniable upgrade. The blame for him ending up at City lies squarely with Fenway Sports Group and it could prove costly in the final months of this season.

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