Liverpool have started their Premier League campaign with back-to-back wins following a late victory at Newcastle United. Rio Ngumoha’s 100th-minute winner made him the youngest Premier League goalscorer in Liverpool history.
While Arne Slot was happy with the win, post-match, he highlighted an issue that has plagued them all season thus far.
“If you want to be where we want to be at the end of the season, you have to start keeping clean sheets. We’ve conceded too many goals, but we have scored too.”
In all of Liverpool’s last three fixtures, they have gone two goals up and then found themselves drawing 2-2. They managed to salvage a victory against Bournemouth and Newcastle, but in the Community Shield, they were taken to penalties by Crystal Palace and were defeated.
A new signing that can improve their defensive capabilities is half of Liverpool’s plan for what could turn out to be an eventful deadline day.
Liverpool plan double deadline day deal
Liverpool are “ready to finalise” two deadline day deals as they look to complete moves for Alexander Isak and Marc Guehi. Sky Sports Germany’s Florian Plettenberg has reported that “agreements have been reached with both players” and, once their clubs find replacements, the deals will be done.
Liverpool bid £110 million for Isak on August 1st and have held off placing a second bid since then. The Reds have already broken their transfer record once this window with the signing of Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen in a deal that could be worth up to £116 million, but the second bid for Isak will break this record again.
Guehi won’t cost Liverpool anywhere near as much as Isak due to the England centre-back’s contract situation. Guehi is in the final year of his contract with Crystal Palace, and because of this, Steve Parish is only looking to get £40 million for him. However, reports indicate that Liverpool will try and negotiate Palace down from that figure.
The hunt for Isak and Guehi's replacements
Plettenberg indicated that the main sticking point in these two deals is the players’ current clubs finding adequate replacements for them before the window ends, as they don’t want to start the season short-handed.
In this regard, Newcastle have already put in numerous bids for potential Isak replacements. The Magpies had a deal worth £40 million rejected for Brentford’s Yoane Wissa, and just this week, they had bids worth £50 million and £55 million rejected for Wolverhampton’s Jorgen Strand Larsen. Crucially however, the Magpies are now closing in on a deal for Nick Woltemade.
Crystal Palace will have plenty of money to spend on a replacement for Guehi, as they have also sold Eberechi Eze to Arsenal this summer. They are currently being linked with a move for Juventus’s Lloyd Kelly as their new centre-back.
For Liverpool, these clubs completing their deals quickly is of the utmost importance. If Newcastle and Crystal Palace can’t bring in replacements for Isak and Guehi before the window closes, they will likely opt to keep them until at least the next window.