Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi is not in the Premier League team of the season, but if there’s one thing he deserves recognition for, it’s being the biggest missed transfer after Liverpool failed to sign him in the summer.

Liverpool agreed a deal to sign Guehi from Premier League rivals Palace on deadline day, only for it to collapse in the final hours of the transfer window.

Marc Guehi’s failed Liverpool move: What happened next

• Liverpoolenter the season lacking sufficient centre-back depth
• Ibrahima Konate exposed and unable to be pulled from the firing line
• Virgil van Dijk’s performances decline as a result
• Guehiremains professional and is flying with the Eagles

Guehi has continued to establish himself as one of the Premier League’s leading centre-backs, and a key player for England ahead of next summer’s World Cup in North America.

The 2026 tournament was a major factor in him deciding his future club in the summer transfer window and, after months of speculation, Liverpool and Palace agreed a ￡35million fee as Guehi entered the final 12 months of his contract at Selhurst Park.

The Eagles had agreed a deal to sign Igor Julio from rivals Brighton, but the player backed out at the last minute and joined West Ham instead…for some bizarre reason.

With no replacement secured for his captain and most important player, Oliver Glasner and Palace pulled the plug on the deal, and Guehi stayed put.

This left Liverpool short at the back, though they did only reach an agreement with Palace in the final hours of a 12-week-long transfer window so really, they only have themselves to blame.

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No failed transfer has had a bigger impact than Guehi to Liverpool

Following the close of the summer window, Liverpool boss Arne Slot was left with a serious lack of centre-back depth — underlined when he tried to ease concerns about missing out on Guehi by insisting midfielders Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo could play there if needed.

His centre-back pairing of Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk were still regarded as one of the best in the Premier League, but an injury to either could have been disastrous in their title defence.

This isn’t to disrespect Joe Gomez or Giovanni Leoni, but the former is injury-prone and doesn’t seem to be trusted by Slot, and Leoni is only a teenager and new to English football.

Those two don’t provide nearly enough depth behind the injury-prone Konate and 34-year-old Van Dijk. And Leoni’s season-ending ACL injury on his debut made matters worse.

Ironically, neither starter has suffered an injury in the opening three months of 2025/26, but their performances have gradually declined.

Van Dijk started the season strongly, but Konate’s incredible downturn in form has rubbed off on his captain in recent weeks — notably in Saturday’s defeat at Brentford, a fourth Premier League loss in a row for the champions.

Konate’s performances have been horrendous compared to last season and, with Van Dijk also beginning to struggle, fingers are being pointed at the midfield protection, the full-backs, and how Slot sets up his team.

The addition of Guehi might not have completely changed Liverpool’s season, but it would have forced Konate to perform or lose his place, given Slot a superb back-up for the underperforming Frenchman, and potentially steadied the back line.

With Guehi alongside Van Dijk, there’s a decent chance Liverpool’s defence would look a lot stronger. The Reds really f***ed it by waiting so long to agree a deal with Palace.

The England international is available on a free transfer at the end of the season, and while Liverpool remain favourites to sign him, the lack of a transfer fee could invite Bayern Munich and Real Madrid into the mix — a frightening prospect for the champions.

Marc Guehi a notable omission from 2025/26 Premier League team of the season

Guehi’s form has been tremendous again this campaign as Liverpool falter in the Premier League, losing their last four to fall to seventh in the table.

Palace, meanwhile, were on a 19-match unbeaten run until defeat at Everton on October 5 — a week after beating Liverpool at home and ending Slot’s side’s 100% record in the league.

Despite his top-notch performances for the Eagles, Guehi doesn’t feature in our Premier League team of the season based on WhoScored ratings. In fact, there are four centre-backs with a higher average match rating in the top flight this campaign.

Making the team are Arsenal’s Gabriel Magalhaes and Sunderland summer signing Nordi Mukiele.

Also ahead of Guehi are Bournemouth’s Marcos Senesi and Sunderland’s Dan Ballard, while Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah has the same rating (7.20).

Having played every minute for 10th-place Palace this season, Guehi has been superb — and is clearly a player Liverpool will regret missing out on in the summer.

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