Liverpool transfers: Marc Guehi might NOT be the perfect fit for Arne Slot

Marc Guehi's potential transfer to Liverpool is one step closer after his current club Crystal Palace put in bids for multiple centre-backs this week.

The England international defender has been heavily linked with a move away from Selhurst Park this summer, after impressing for Gareth Southgate's team in their run to the Euro 2024 final in Berlin.

Liverpool are in the market for a first team centre back after Joel Matip left on a free transfer earlier this summer, with long-serving Joe Gomez and others set to follow him out the door.

Read more: Liverpool could sell THREE defenders before transfer deadline as Joe Gomez stance REVEALED

According to the Daily Mail, Crystal Palace have put in bids for Wolfsburg defender Maxence Lacroix and Benfica centre-back Tomas Araujo this week, paving the way for Guehi's exit, who has been linked with Liverpool after Newcastle failed in a recent bid to bring him to St. James' Park.

Guehi would reportedly cost an estimated £70 million to bring to Anfield, but there is one weakness to his game which could put Arne Slot off a potential transfer.

In his Premier League career so far, Guehi has an aerial duel win rate of just 55% – compare that to Virgil van Dijk's 75% and Konate's 71% and it looks like a real weakness.

ARNE SLOT UNIMPRESSED WITH FIRST-HALF DISPLAY

Slot was unimpressed with his players in the first half of their opening game against Ipswich Town last weekend, taking Jarell Quansah off at half time after he struggled in the air against Liam Delap.

“First thing I said [during the break] was we don’t have to speak about tactics if we lose so many duels, and that’s what we did,” Slot told TNT Sports.

“That’s not that Jarell lost every duel – many of us lost too many duels – but I think we needed Ibou Konate to win these long balls in the air from the No. 9,” Slot added.

So any defender coming into the team will need to be able to win duels in the air and on the ground on a consistent basis to impress the new Liverpool manager, who was praised for his decision to make an early change after the game.

Slot is in need of depth in defence as if Gomez does leave, Van Dijk, Konate and Quansah will be the only senior centre backs at the club.

Liverpool's lack of incoming transfers has worried fans, as the club has been focused on raising funds by selling younger players in the window so far.

TRANSFERS OUT

After a relatively quiet summer, the transfer window has become a lot busier for Liverpool and new Sporting Director Richard Hughes, with Sepp van den Berg the latest squad player on his way out of the club.

Liverpool have struggled to get any deals done to freshen up Slot's squad so far, after failing in a bid to buy Martín Zubimendi from Real Sociedad earlier in the window.

However, with plenty of funds now set to come in from the sales of Bobby Clark, Gomez and van den Berg, the next week could be a very busy one for Hughes as he tries to give Slot the tools to compete in multiple competitions this season.