Liverpool have transfer gift for Marc Guehi if they seal move before deadline

Liverpool are racing against the clock to finalise their summer transfer business, with manager Arne Slot keen to bolster his squad before the deadline. The Reds have reportedly set their sights on Crystal Palace's centre-back Marc Guehi.

The Merseyside club are said to have tabled an initial £35million bid for the England international in a bid to strengthen their defensive line-up. Guehi's contract with Palace is due to expire at the end of the season.

However, it has been reported that Palace have countered with a demand of £35m plus an additional £5m in add-ons. The South London club are also rumoured to be interested in acquiring defender Joe Gomez on loan as part of the deal, a proposal Liverpool are not prepared to entertain.

There appears to be a mutual desire from both clubs to reach an agreement before the transfer window slams shut. This could potentially allow Liverpool to begin integrating Guehi into the squad and team.

Should a deal be struck, one of the first decisions will be assigning a squad number to the new recruit. Guehi currently sports the number six jersey for both Palace and England, but this number is already occupied at Liverpool by Milos Kerkez.

Guehi has also donned the numbers five and two during his stint at Swansea City, but these are also taken at Anfield, with Ibrahima Konate and Gomez respectively wearing them.

Should Guehi make the switch to Liverpool this summer, he could potentially reclaim his original squad number from his early days in Chelsea's first team. The centre-back only made a couple of appearances for the Blues, but did so donning the number 44.

This particular squad number is currently unoccupied at Liverpool, with Luke Chambers being the last player to wear it during the 2023/24 season. Another option for Guehi could be the number 16 shirt, which he has previously worn while representing England in some of his national team appearances last season.