Barca can open before contract negotiations from January 1.
Liverpool’s inability to sign one of their most important summer goals could prove costly after it emerged that Barcelona are carrying out a ‘huge charm offensive’ to secure a deal.
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The Reds spent a record £446 million on transfers this summer, with Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Giovanni Leoni, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerke and Alexander Isak coming through the doors at Anfield.
It was a busy deadline day for them behind the scenes for Liverpool as they finalised a British record deal for Isak.
But they failed in their attempt to sign long-term target Marc Guehi, who was on the verge of joining the English champions from Crystal Palace in a deal worth £35 million plus a clause on 10 percent of a future resale amount.
However, Palace pulled the strings on a deal after manager Oliver Glasner threatened to leave the club if Guehi was sold, according to talkSPORT.
It was widely reported at the time that Palace had refused to approve the transfer as they struggled to find a replacement for the England international, as goalkeeper Igor Julio opted to join West Ham.
Three months after a deal with Liverpool collapsed, Guehi is being closely followed by Barcelona.
The Spanish club have made two formal representations to Guehi’s representatives in the last two weeks, with the defender being seen as a potentially “smart, cost-effective addition” to their squad.
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It is said that a bid in January “is likely”, although their own financial challenges will limit any offer.
The news comes after Barcelona’s sporting director, Deco, mentioned Guehi during an interview with Spanish radio station SER Catalunya.
Deco described the centre-back as a “good player” while talking about Barcelona’s approach to transfers. “We’ve identified a lot of players [as potential options],” he added. “We are happy to have a young squad, with players from La Masia, [which] allows us to be more calm.”
Barcelona’s charm offensive, however, includes the allure of Champions League football and a starring role at the heart of their defence alongside Pau Cubarsí.
Crystal Palace boss explains why club turned down Liverpool’s offer for Marc Guehi
After the club failed to sign two centre-backs this summer, Palace boss Steve Parish spoke about the situation surrounding Guehi.
“It’s a difficult decision,” he told talkSPORT as he touched on keeping Guehi at Selhurst Park after months of speculation. “It’s as simple as that. These things are never black and white.
I finally decided that, based on the advice I received and with what I believe, that we would have a better season if we kept Marc.
We don’t guess at these things. If you look at it rationally, if you look at what’s worth the place in the Premier League, the fact that we’re in the Conference League for the first time in our history, this is a pretty unusual set of circumstances to keep a player.
If we were fighting for the difference between 10th and 14th place, if it was going to be the difference between keeping Marc and letting Marc go, then we probably would have said, ‘We should take the money.'”
