Liverpool transfer news: Latest on Marc Guehi as Joe Gomez injury reveals Arne Slot weakness in defence

Liverpool could risk history repeating itself by relying on three senior centre-backs next season, Reds transfer expert David Lynch has argued.

The champions lost 4-2 against AC Milan in a pre-season friendly on Saturday afternoon, but central defender Joe Gomez was not part of the squad due to an injury, and his setback is a concern given he is one of only three senior central defenders at Anfield following the sale of Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen.

Arne Slot's side have been strongly linked to Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi, but there has seemingly been little progress on the deal since news of the Reds' admiration broke earlier this summer.

Lynch would be worried about the prospect of relying on the likes of Wataru Endo filling in as an auxiliary option in defence, when he told Sports Mole: "It's certainly an option but I would hope not personally. I've spoken to people at Liverpool who've recently talked up the ability of Endo to play there occasionally, Gravenberch too.

"That makes me slightly concerned, but I would like to think that they learned their lesson from what happened last time in 2020-21. They were very unlucky that season with the amount of centre-halves they lost to injury, which was freakish by the end.

"If Liverpool can't get a certain target, they hold fire and wait until they're available, but I don't think that's an option in this situation. My feeling is that they will sign a centre-back and I personally hope that they do because why run that risk again when you're defending your title?"

Liverpool went into the 2020-21 season as defending champions but did so with only three senior centre-backs, and injuries in defence ultimately derailed their campaign, with the club eventually finishing third.

Will Liverpool beat Tottenham Hotspur to Guehi?

Tottenham Hotspur have also been credited with an interest in Guehi, and it would not be surprising if they moved for a central defender this window considering they were vulnerable at the back last season.

With Liverpool looking to pull off an audacious swoop for Newcastle United's Alexander Isak, there are fears that the Reds could be beaten to the Palace star's signature due to them being distracted by other deals.

Speaking to Sports Mole, Lynch insisted that Spurs would not be as appealing as a move to Anfield, saying: "Would Tottenham be as appealing as a move to Liverpool? I'm not so sure. They do have Champions League football, he could stay in London, but they've been a bit of a basket case in recent years.

"There's no guarantees that they will be in the Champions League again next season, where you could definitely say that for Liverpool, albeit maybe the appeal at Tottenham is that he would definitely start every game, whereas you probably couldn't say that at the moment, were he to move to Anfield."

It is important to highlight that Guehi could overtake Ibrahima Konate as a starter in 2026-27 considering the Reds defender has just a year remaining on his contract, and a move to Real Madrid for free has been touted as a possibility.

What will Liverpool do in the market if they miss out on Guehi?

It is difficult to see Liverpool entering the 2025-26 campaign with just three senior centre-backs, though Palace have been known to be tough negotiators.

If the Eagles prove stubborn to deal with, the champions could wait to sign the defender for free in the summer of 2026, though they would still be short at the back for the coming campaign.

Lynch claimed that Liverpool would likely look to sign a younger central defender, telling Sports Mole: "Liverpool are waiting on the Crystal Palace side of things more than anything at the moment, because they're obviously in a weird situation with which European competition they're going to be in. That's disrupted their summer business.

"Liverpool want to be there for Guehi if it's possible, but they don't quite know yet what that deal is going to look like, how much Crystal Palace will want, whether that fits into what they think is feasible to pay, so we're waiting to see on that front.

"If it's not going to be Guehi, I think they'll go back to that profile of a much younger centre-half who's got room to grow, would come in as quite clearly the fourth choice and then be developed at Liverpool. That is the plan, but they will only revert to that if it becomes clear that they can't get Guehi, but we're not at that moment yet."

Guehi is 25 years old and while he has many seasons ahead of him, he would almost certainly seek assurances in regard to playing time given he has firmly established himself in the Premier League.

> Click here to listen to the full discussion on whether Liverpool will sign Marc Guehi or risk having just three centre-backs next season