Crystal Palace pulled out of their deal with Liverpool for Marc Guehi on transfer deadline day (Picture: Getty)
Liverpool are likely to face competition from Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Juventus should they renew their pursuit of Marc Guehi in the January transfer window.
The Reds appeared to have made a breakthrough in their attempts to sign Guehi after agreeing a £35m deal with Crystal Palace for the defender on deadline day.
While Brighton’s Igor Julio had been lined up as a possible successor to Guehi at Selhurst Park, the Brazilian would instead go on to complete a season-long loan move to West Ham.
According to The Guardian, Guehi had completed the first part of his medical with Liverpool before they pulled the plug on the transfer, leaving the centre-back ‘angry’ and ‘extremely unhappy’.
Your ultimate guide to the football season
Metro's football newsletter: In The Mixer. Exclusive analysis, FPL tips and transfer talk sent straight to your inbox every Friday – sign up, it's an open goal.
Palace’s social media team had even made a farewell video, due to be shared when Guehi’s proposed transfer to Liverpool was announced, which has since been leaked online.
The report suggests Oliver Glasner was behind Palace’s decision and threatened to hand in his notice if the England international was sold to the reigning Premier League champions.
Guehi scored a brilliant goal in Palace’s win at Villa Park last weekend (Picture: Getty)
Glasner threatened to resign as Palace boss if Guehi was sold (Picture: Getty)
The Palace head coach was adamant that the club would not have enough time to find a suitable replacement if the door was opened for Guehi to make way.
It’s claimed Liverpool could move for Guehi again when the January window opens for business, but the Palace captain will, at this stage, be able to sign a pre-contract agreement with clubs overseas.
European giants Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Juventus are all said to be interested in Guehi and could compete with Liverpool for the centre-half over the winter.
Guehi’s current contract with Palace is due to expire in June 2026.
Up Next
‘He’s such a great player and adds so much value to the team,’ Palace midfielder Justin Devenny said of Guehi after it was confirmed the defender would be staying put.
‘He’s a leader on and off the pitch and you can see that the way he acted.
‘He’s been spot on and he’s quality.’
‘I told the chairman we have to keep Marc if we want to play a successful season,’ Glasner told BBC Sport before Palace’s 3-0 win over Aston Villa.
‘We have no chance to find the right replacement in one day.
‘We all agreed that we just sell Marc if we have the right replacement in the building.
‘We wanted a replacement by July 1. It is August 31 and we have no replacement. We have this agreement so it is clear from me.
‘He is such a crucial player. He is one of our key players – he is our captain.’
Viktor Gyokeres cut an isolated figure up front as Arsenal were beaten by Liverpool (Picture: Getty)
Viktor Gyokeres has hit back after Freddie Ljungberg said he was ‘sad’ to watch Mikel Arteta’s current playing style at Arsenal, arguing that it is ‘easy’ to criticise ‘if you’re not on the pitch’.
The Gunners had appeared to have turned a corner after a sluggish opening display at Old Trafford, putting five past Daniel Farke’s newly promoted side in front of a rapturous Emirates crowd.
The visitors managed just one shot on target in the match and there was some frustration amongst Arsenal’s fanbase over an apparent lack of ambition from their team at Anfield.
Your ultimate guide to the football season
Metro's football newsletter: In The Mixer. Exclusive analysis, FPL tips and transfer talk sent straight to your inbox every Friday – sign up, it's an open goal.
Former Arsenal winger Llungberg, meanwhile, admitted he was saddened by Arteta’s tactics across the game as he analysed the performance on Viaplay.
Ljungberg was left saddened by Arsenal’s performance at Anfield (Picture: Getty)
Szoboszlai’s late free-kick proved the difference on Merseyside (Picture: Getty)
‘I always say to people that I was proud, when I was away, I travelled the world, and people would say, “Oh, I don’t really support you or Arsenal, but I always want to see you guys play”,’ Llungberg, who also managed the club on an interim basis before Arteta took charge, said.
‘It was beautiful football, it was offensive football, you were going for it, to win it. That was what I was mostly proud of, not the trophies and all that kind of stuff.
‘When I see a little bit of what I’ve seen today [Sunday] with Arsenal, to just minimise risk all the time, taking a lot of time on, for example, free-kicks… that is a little bit sad to see.
‘I would like them to try a bit more. They have fantastic players.’
Up Next
Llungberg did, though, stress that Arteta’s choices must be ‘respected’ and fans should wait until the end of the season to make their final judgement.
‘We have to respect Arteta, he is the manager of Arsenal Football Club,’ the Swede added.
‘We’re talking here from the outside and we don’t really know what’s happening on the training ground and that’s how he wants to play.
Liverpool landed an early blow in the title race with the win (Picture: Getty)
‘He’s employed to be the Arsenal manager and that’s how he wants to play the football.
‘He’s quite clear that he’s not disappointed in how they play, “That’s how I set them up, that’s how I think we’re going to win the league”, so we’ll have to see after 38 games if that’s the right way to go or not.
‘But he seems very, very clear that this is how Arsenal is going to play football.’
Up Next
Gyokeres was often left isolated up front against Liverpool and was perhaps let down by a lack of services from his new team-mates, with Gabriel Martinelli especially poor down the left flank.
On the Gunners being amongst the favourites for the title, Gyokeres told Sportbladet: ‘It’s positive that others have that image. We want to win titles and go for it.
‘We have an extremely good team. It’s about working hard and getting into it with the new players we have and making it work.
Gyokeres is currently away on international duty with Sweden (Picture: Getty)
‘The matches we’ve played so far have felt good, you can always do things better. It’s not like it’s going to go game after game. We just have to continue on the same path.’
Pressed on Ljungberg’s comments about Arsenal’s tactics at Anfield, Gyokeres responded: ‘It’s easy [to criticise] if you’re not on the pitch to say what you think and feel about a match. Then it’s difficult to steer it where you want.
‘We did well defensively and they didn’t get many chances. Then we would have liked to do even better offensively.
‘It’s not easy to do every aspect perfectly every match.’
The Swede will hope to rediscover his scoring boots when Arsenal return to action against Forest (Picture: Getty)
Gyokeres had hoped to have resolved his future earlier in the summer, but the forward had to wait until late July to seal a move to Arsenal.
‘It’s been tough. We waited a lot longer for a period,’ he said of the summer transfer saga.
‘But it’s nice that it was finished in a decent amount of time and that I got to be there at Arsenal during the pre-season.’
While Gyokeres admits ‘it could have ended better’ at Sporting, he insists there were certain aspects of his departure that were out of his control.
‘Of course it was sad, but there was nothing I could have done differently about how it ended,’ he continued.
‘It happened this time, it can happen sometimes in life. Of course it could have ended better. It was nothing I could control.’
Gyokeres is currently away on international duty with the Swedish national team ahead of their World Cup qualifying matches against Slovenia and Kosovo.
Arteta will no doubt be hoping Gyokeres returns to Arsenal fully fit and firing for side’s next encounter with Nottingham Forest in ten days’ time.
Lammens made 64 appearances for Antwerp, helping them win the Belgian Super Cup in 2023 and making more saves than any other goalkeeper in Europe last season.
The 23-year-old is yet to earn his first cap for Belgium but was named in the squad for the first time back in March.
Metro's football newsletter: In The Mixer. Exclusive analysis, FPL tips and transfer talk sent straight to your inbox every Friday – sign up, it's an open goal.
In Lammens, they signed one of the most promising shot-stoppers in Europe who attracted interest from a number of other clubs.
According to the Daily Mail, United’s Premier League rivals Aston Villa were also keen to sign Lammens and even agreed a deal with Royal Antwerp.
Emiliano Martinez was linked with a move away from Aston Villa (Picture: Getty)
Antwerp were hoping to shake hands with Villa as the fee was higher than United’s offer but Lammens made it clear he wanted to complete a ‘dream move’ to Old Trafford.
But despite interest from several clubs, including Manchester United, Martinez ended up staying at Villa Park.
Jamie Carragher, the former Liverpool and England defender, was among those to question why United did not sign Martinez, a proven Premier League goalkeeper and a World Cup winner with Argentina.
‘I was expecting Emi Martinez to come in yesterday for Manchester United, just on the back of Unai Emery’s interview before the game against Crystal Palace on Sunday night,’ Carragher told Sky Sports News.
‘So I am surprised that hasn’t happened.
‘The Belgian lad [Lammens] is obviously a young goalkeeper with great potential and it just remains to be seen how long it will be before he goes into the team.
‘I would imagine that would be pretty quickly given the form of the other two goalkeepers at Manchester United.
‘But he’s a young goalkeeper and, like we said when Manchester United brought in a young striker in Benjamin Sesko at the other end of the pitch, they will need time, that’s just the nature of the beast, certainly as a goalkeeper as well.
‘I think the thing with the manager now is how quickly he puts this young lad in and I would imagine it would be pretty quickly.’
After completing a move to Old Trafford, Lammens said: ‘I am extremely proud to be joining Manchester United. It is a real dream come true.
‘The past few years have been an amazing journey, it’s now ended in an incredible destination and hopefully the beginning of something special.’
United’s director of football Jason Wilcox added: ‘Senne is an excellent young goalkeeper with great potential.
‘We are delighted that he has chosen to join Manchester United after significant interest from a number of clubs.’
Ismaila Sarr suffered a hamstring injury in Crystal Palace’s win against Aston Villa (Getty)
Crystal Palace winger Ismaila Sarr has withdrawn from Senegal’s squad due to a hamstring injury.
Sarr found the net in Palace’s 3-0 win against Villa on Sunday night but was forced off in the closing stages of the game.
The 27-year-old had already been called up to Senegal’s national side for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Sudan and DR Congo during the international break.
However, Sarr has now been ruled out of both fixtures and has been replaced in Senegal’s squad by Union Saint-Gilloise winger Ousseynou Niang.
Senegal’s national team have also confirmed that Sarr has suffered a grade two hamstring tear, which means the Palace winger could be sidelined for at least four weeks.
Your ultimate guide to the football season
Metro's football newsletter: In The Mixer. Exclusive analysis, FPL tips and transfer talk sent straight to your inbox every Friday – sign up, it's an open goal.
The games Ismaila Sarr could miss for Crystal Palace
Sunderland (H) | Premier League | September 13
West Ham (A) | Premier League | September 20
Liverpool (H) | Premier League | September 27
Dynamo Kyiv (A) | Conference League | October 2
Everton (A) Z Premier League | October 4
A statement from the Senegalese Football Federation read: ‘The Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) informs the public that player Ismaila Sarr, who was called up for the matches Senegal vs Sudan and DRC vs Senegal, was injured on Sunday during the match between his club Cristal Palace and Aston Villa.
‘An MRI scan performed today in London revealed a grade II muscle injury to his right hamstring.
‘Therefore, he will be unavailable for the next two matches.’
After the international break, Palace will host Sunderland at Selhurst Park on September 13.
The 23-year-old has made only 62 appearances in Belgian football and played just one game in the Champions League before his move to Old Trafford.
However, Lammens is highly rated and Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois believes his countryman is ‘well-suited’ to the Premier League.
‘Just so you know, that voice note was from Thibaut Courtois. He let me know about Lammens because he’s a Belgian player, and he was just giving me the heads up as to what he’s like,’ Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel.
Your ultimate guide to the football season
Metro's football newsletter: In The Mixer. Exclusive analysis, FPL tips and transfer talk sent straight to your inbox every Friday – sign up, it's an open goal.
‘He said he’s a huge talent, obviously not experienced yet but he thinks his style will be well-suited to the Premier League as well.
Senne Lammens joins Manchester United from Belgian side Royal Antwerp (Getty)
‘So that’s a recommendation from probably one of the best three goalkeepers in the world, Thibaut Courtois, so I’ll take that.
‘I keep seeing people talk about the talent and whatnot, but the problem is – can Man United afford to wait for talent to develop at this point in time? That’s the question.’
Manchester United had considered a move to sign Emiliano Martinez from Aston Villa (Getty)
Despite United strengthening with Lammens on deadline day, Ferdinand believes his former club should have signed Martinez from Aston Villa.
‘What I would say is I was all-in on Emi Martinez,’ Ferdinand said.
‘I just think his experience, he’s got the personality, the character, plays for Argentina where the pressure is absolutely immense, he’s won a World Cup, he was one of the reasons they won the World Cup, the save in the final, a big moments man,
‘Man United need as much personality as they need ability coming through that door and I think he fits the bill in that sense completely.’
