{"id":34805,"date":"2025-12-24T06:49:36","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T11:49:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2025\/12\/24\/euro-giants-cool-interest-in-most-wanted-liverpool-target-giving-big-boost-to-arne-slott\/"},"modified":"2025-12-24T06:49:36","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T11:49:36","slug":"euro-giants-cool-interest-in-most-wanted-liverpool-target-giving-big-boost-to-arne-slott","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2025\/12\/24\/euro-giants-cool-interest-in-most-wanted-liverpool-target-giving-big-boost-to-arne-slott\/","title":{"rendered":"Euro giants cool interest in &#8216;most wanted&#8217; Liverpool target, giving big boost to Arne Slott"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2025\/12\/24\/euro-giants-cool-interest-in-most-wanted-liverpool-target-giving-big-boost-to-arne-slott\/#Liverpools_target_is_a_man_in_demand\" >Liverpool&#8217;s target is a man in demand.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2025\/12\/24\/euro-giants-cool-interest-in-most-wanted-liverpool-target-giving-big-boost-to-arne-slott\/#Reds_lead_race_to_sign_Gehi_next_year\" >Reds lead race to sign Gehi next year<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p><strong>According to a report from Mundo Deportivo, Liverpool&#8217;s bid to sign Crystal Palace captain Marc Gehi has accelerated significantly after Barcelona&#8217;s interest in the England international has cooled.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Catalan giants are said to be increasingly reluctant to enter a competitive bidding war for the defender, primarily because the financial implications of such a deal would open the door for their Premier League and European rivals to step up their efforts.<\/p>\n<p>Gehi has established himself as one of the Premier League&#8217;s most consistent centre-backs and is attracting attention from across Europe.<\/p>\n<p>As Crystal Palace captain, the 25-year-old has been a cornerstone of the Eagles&#8217; stability of late, but an unresolved contract situation has fueled speculation about his future.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Liverpools_target_is_a_man_in_demand\"><\/span>Liverpool&#8217;s target is a man in demand.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Crystal Palace defender is said to be the &#8220;most wanted&#8221; free agent in history.<\/p>\n<p>He is due to leave Selhurst Park next year. If he leaves in January, he will incur a transfer fee, but his contract will expire and he will become a free agent, so his summer transfer will be free.<\/p>\n<p>Barcelona&#8217;s withdrawal is understood to be due to ongoing financial constraints. While the club admires Gehi&#8217;s profile, they are wary of committing significant resources to a deal that could quickly escalate, especially as Palace are in no hurry to sell him cheaply.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, Barca are now expected to shift their focus to alternative defensive targets, such as Alessandro Bastoni and Jo\u0161ko Gvardiol, players who fit into their long-term defensive vision but may require a different contract structure.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Reds_lead_race_to_sign_Gehi_next_year\"><\/span>Reds lead race to sign Gehi next year<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><picture><source type=\"image\/webp\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/crystal-palace-v-liverpool-premier-league-2-414x291.jpg.webp 414w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/crystal-palace-v-liverpool-premier-league-2-630x443.jpg.webp 630w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/crystal-palace-v-liverpool-premier-league-2-768x540.jpg.webp 768w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/crystal-palace-v-liverpool-premier-league-2-770x541.jpg.webp 770w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/crystal-palace-v-liverpool-premier-league-2-900x633.jpg.webp 900w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/crystal-palace-v-liverpool-premier-league-2-1200x844.jpg.webp 1200w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/crystal-palace-v-liverpool-premier-league-2-1536x1080.jpg.webp 1536w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/crystal-palace-v-liverpool-premier-league-2.jpg.webp 1670w\" data-sizes=\"(min-width:1230px) 770px, (min-width:1020px) 630px, (min-width:900px) 880px, (min-width:680px) 97vw, (min-width:414px) 414px, 100vw\"\/><\/picture><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Crystal Palace&#8217;s Mark Gehi in action (Photo by Tom Dulat\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This development is good news for Liverpool, who are planning to strengthen their defense.<\/p>\n<p>With Virgil van Dijk struggling to perform this season and Ibrahima Konate facing an uncertain future at Anfield, signing Gehi has become crucial for the Reds, and Barcelona&#8217;s withdrawal from the race gives them the confidence to sign a centre-back.<\/p>\n<p>Bayern Munich and Real Madrid are understood to be monitoring Gehi&#8217;s situation closely, aware that defenders of Gehi&#8217;s talent and age are hard to come by.<\/p>\n<p>The slot side are still expected to face competition, but remain the frontrunners to sign the England international at this stage.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Exclusive: Man City eye Liverpool, 23-year-old attacker in race to sign Semenyo <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End -->\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>According to a report from Mundo Deportivo, Liverpool&#8217;s bid to sign Crystal Palace captain Marc Gehi has accelerated significantly after Barcelona&#8217;s interest in the England international has cooled. The Catalan giants are said to be increasingly reluctant to enter a competitive bidding war for the defender, primarily because the financial implications of such a deal [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34806,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[40],"class_list":{"0":"post-34805","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-football"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34805"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34805\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}