Man City urged to hijack Liverpool move for top England star
A former Manchester City star has explained why Pep Guardiolaâs side must beat Liverpool to the signing of Crystal Palaceâs Marc Guehi, while also picking his winner for the Premier League title.
Man City went trophyless last season, dropping down to third in the Premier League and relinquishing their title to Liverpool. They were also beaten 1-0 by Palace in the FA Cup final and were surprisingly dumped out of the Club World Cup by Al-Hilal.
One of the main reasons why Cityâs form has dropped off is they have not acted quickly enough in recent transfer windows to rectify their ageing squad.
The Cityzens have tried to address the issue this year, signing Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis in January and following that up with more deals this summer.
Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki, Rayan Ait-Nouri, James Trafford and Sverre Nypan have all arrived at the Etihad.
City are looking to win the title back from Liverpool and also go far in the Champions League, having won the competition for the first time in 2023.
Stuart Pearce, who has both played for City and managed them, has admitted there is âworryâ about their backline, suggesting it could be their âAchilles heelâ.
Pearce thinks City should disrupt Liverpoolâs swoop for Guehi in order to strengthen their centre-back options and take their squad to the next level.
âWhen they won the Champions League a couple of years ago, I think they won it on being very, very tough to score against,â he said in an interview with Sports Mole. âThat was their key that season. Everything fell into place.
âThe back four was pretty consistent and played extremely well together. Kyle Walker dealt with any problems. They had that extra bit at the back. That was their strong card.
âIt does worry me a little bit. If I was in their situation, Marc Guehi would be one I would go after. Iâm a big fan of this kid. Heâs got the ability to deal with things one-on-one on the counter-attack.
âYouâve got to be good at that if youâre a Manchester City player in the expansive way they play. But if anythingâs going to be their Achilles heel, itâs going to be that backline again.â
When asked about who might win the title between clubs such as City, Liverpool and Arsenal, Pearce added: âArne Slot has done a brilliant job. Credit to Jurgen before him, it was a real good job to inherit.
âBut he rekindled the likes of Van Dijk, Salah got going again, Gravenberch was arguably the best midfield player in the league last year and theyâve recruited well.
âIf had to pick a winner of the Premier League today, it would be Liverpool. I think theyâve recruited well on top of what they already had, and they seem in a very solid place at this moment in time.â
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Returning to Guehi, City would have to move strongly to prevent the England star from going to Anfield.
Liverpool are eyeing a ÂŁ40-45million deal to prise Guehi away from Palace this summer.
TEAMtalk revealed on July 3 that Liverpool have agreed a five-year contract with Guehi that also includes the option for an extra 12 months.
Palace previously wanted more than ÂŁ70m for their defensive leader but cannot demand such a fee this time around as his contract expires next summer.
Liverpool view the 25-year-old as someone who can compete with Ibrahima Konate and also potentially replace the Frenchman. Konate is stalling on a new contract himself and is evaluating interest from Real Madrid.
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