Liverpool 'willing to offer 19-year-old' in Marc Guehi swap transfer after £50m reveal

Liverpool could reportedly try to drive the price down for Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi by including 19-year-old attacker Ben Doak as part of the agreement.

Over the weekend, it was claimed that the Premier League champions were 'close' to striking a deal for Guehi, who is now in the final 12 months of his deal with the Eagles.

Palace originally slapped a £70m price tag on the head of the England international, but there is an acceptance that they will not garner such a fee now given his contract situation.

However, the FA Cup winners are still hopeful of accruing between £40m and £50m for the former Chelsea starlet, especially as the Blues retained a 20% sell-on clause when they offloaded him in 2021.

Liverpool have so far shown no intention of forking out such a fee for a player who will become a free agent in a year's time, but according to The Sun, Arne Slot might have an ace up his sleeve.

Liverpool 'prepared to offer Ben Doak' in Guehi deal

The report claims that Liverpool are willing to send teenage attacker Doak in the opposite direction to boost their chances of striking a deal for Guehi, as the Scotsman is 'fancied' by the Palace powers-that-be.

The ex-Celtic protege came good on loan at Middlesbrough last season, posting three goals and seven assists in 24 Championship appearances for Michael Carrick's side before suffering a campaign-ending hamstring injury.

Doak is now due back at Liverpool for pre-season but could find opportunities for game time limited next term following Mohamed Salah's two-year contract extension, so an exit has unsurprisingly been mooted.

Liverpool would reportedly be after £25m to sell the 2005-born product but could instead offer him to Palace in a player-plus-cash deal for Guehi, although it would take a great effort from the Liverpool transfer team to successfully negotiate that deal.

Everton are also rumoured to be pursuing Doak's signature, but the Toffees are not prepared to fork out £25m for a player who has only made three Premier League appearances so far.

Doak is also yet to score or assist in 10 senior matches for Liverpool across all competitions, three years on from his £600,000 arrival from Celtic as a 16-year-old.

Slot's Doak dilemma: Should Liverpool boss keep or sell the Scotsman?

Barring a season-ending injury for Salah, Doak will spend 2025-26 playing second or maybe even third fiddle to the electrifying Egyptian depending on what happens with Harvey Elliott and Federico Chiesa.

The latter is already being heavily linked with a return to Serie A after a nightmarish first year in the UK, while Elliott has put himself in the shop window with a collection of standout displays at the Under-21 Euros.

The prospective exits of Chiesa and Elliott would leave Salah short of cover on the right flank, and if Doak wins Slot's trust, starts in cup matches and inconsequential European ties could very well come his way.

As a result, it may be too premature to ship the Scotsman out for good, although it would not be a shock to see his camp push for another loan departure to a club who can promise him a significant amount of minutes.

Written by
Ben Knapton