Dean Saunders: Liverpool don’t need Marc Guehi

Following Liverpool’s 2-0 Champions League win over Bologna yesterday night we had the pleasure of catching up with former Liverpool striker Dean Saunders who gave us insights into key topics pertaining to the Reds. 

In this article: 

• Is Marc Guehi ready to step up?
• Cody Gakpo: Misused Talent or Victim of Liverpool’s Depth?
• Trent, Van Dijk, and Salah’s Uncertain Futures

Is Marc Guehi ready to step up?

Crystal Palace centre half Marc Guehi enjoyed a busy summer. Much busier than he would have been accustomed to. He started it by steering England to a Euro’s final in which he played a crucial role alongside Manchester City defender John Stones. He then found himself front and centre of a transfer saga alks between the two clubs have been ongoing, with Crystal Palace valuing Guéhi at around £60 million or more. Newcastle

made multiple bids, with their most recent offers being in the range of £50-65 million, but Palace held firm, demanding a higher fee. It has now been reported that Guehi is said to be interested in joining Liverpool but Saunders feels as though with Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez and Jarrell Quansah, the Reds have enough cover and quality. 

“When you’re a big club you’ve got to have players who know their place and won’t let you down through attitude. Konate is a great player and van Dijk is a rolls royce of a player. Slot has Quansah, Gomez and Konate to choose from and I think all three are really good. Konate is great, Quansah could be a great player and Gomez is a good player. He can come in and his attitude will be spot on.” 

Guéhi came through the renowned Chelsea academy, where he honed his skills as a central defender but spent two crucial loan spells at Swansea City, where he gained invaluable first-team experience. After his successful loan spells, Guéhi made a permanent move to Crystal Palace in 2021. Since then, he has become a crucial player for the club and country with his ball-playing ability, leadership, and defensive awareness making him one of the best young defenders in the Premier League. Yet, Saunders is still wary of his lack of experience at the top level. 

“I don’t think Liverpool need Guehi. Unless they see Guehi as a world beater who could be better than van Dijk. I think he’s not much better than the other three. He plays for Palace and I’d like to see him playing for a top six club where the pressure is one every week. It’s a different ball game. They’re different animals to manage. The players at the top six clubs can’t make mistakes. If you play at the back for Liverpool you’re going to get slaughtered if you keep making mistakes.” 

Cody Gakpo: Misused Talent or Victim of Liverpool’s Depth?

Cody Gakpo has had an up and down time at Liverpool but many would argue he’s rarely been used in his best position on the left wing which he has stated is his preferred position. Having mainly been used as a false 9 under Jurgen Klopp, Gakpo found solace and comfort when called up to the Netherlands National Team and used in his favoured position. 

“Gakpo has been unlucky at Liverpool but he was good at the Euros. There’s always been a question mark as to whether he’s good enough to play. Bearing in mind he walked into a front three which was the best in the world in terms of Mane, Salah and Firmino. Jota has come in alongside Nunez who looks a handful and there’s a player in there. He has a knack of missing chances but there’s a player there. And then there’s Diaz who replaced Mane and Diaz has bided his time to show his class and has done so by working hard.” 

One of the reasons Gakpo has struggled for playing time this season can be attributed to the stunning form of winger Luis Diaz. The winger has been one of the in-form players in the Premier League this campaign with five goals in six games for the Reds and his form has earned the praise of Saunders. 

“You could never say Diaz doesn’t work hard enough. Now he’s got five or six goals and he’s playing out of his skin. As a manager myself I know how difficult it is to find centre forwards who score goals and run towards goal without the ball. Same with wide players. Loads want it to feet. Salah, Mane and Diaz will do that and hopefully Gakpo will slot in eventually and show his class. To have someone like Gakpo struggling to get into the Liverpool team is a good sign and at Liverpool the forwards are queuing up to get into the team.”

Trent, Van Dijk, and Salah’s Uncertain Futures

The futures of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, and Mohamed Salah at Liverpool have been a key focus as all three players are nearing the end of their contracts, which are set to expire in 2025. Three could be deemed as the clubs most important players as they seek to claw up ground on Arsenal and Manchester City. Liverpool are said to be prioritising new deals for the trio, but negotiations remain ongoing. However, when discussing the future’s of Liverpool’s key players, Saunders makes a point, potentially overlooking in not mentioning the future of Salah as a concern. 

“My biggest worry for Liverpool is if they lose Trent, van Dijk and Allison. They’re the best three players in the team and it’ll be difficult to replace them. So they need to give them the money. Money talks. I was surprised they let Mane go. I would have offered him what he wanted. If you want to win the league you’ve got to put your hand in your pocket.” 

“Trent can get 300k a week from someone else like Real Madrid. Don’t be surprised if you see him at Real Madrid. If other clubs are willing to pay the wages and Liverpool want to win the league they’ve got to say here’s the money.”