The Athletic’s Transfer Sheet column was removed yesterday, with reporters David Ornstein and James Pearce chiming in to give an update on potential Liverpool business… and mainly in the coming summer.
During Ornstein’s watch segment, Liverpool and Connor Bradley’s recent injuries took center stage. Osten said Liverpool are not expected to provide cover for Bradley, as they did when Giovanni Leoni and Alexander Isak were injured. Depending on the outcome of the surgery, Bradley may be available for the World Cup if Northern Ireland advances; therefore, the club does not see the need to replace the player.
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Ornstein also noted that the Reds appear to be on a dry footing this summer, especially given the development of the center back situation. Progress on Ibrahima Konate’s contract extension has stalled, with the player expected to leave on a free transfer in the summer. Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez’s contracts will also increase in 2027, so it is expected that there will be reinforcements at that position, whether it is Marc Guehi or another target.
Mohamed Salah is expected to finish the season at Liverpool and fulfill his contract, which runs until 2027. Ornstein noted that if issues persist between Liverpool’s talisman and the club, they may start discussing parting ways, but hopes the situation calms down and he stays for the foreseeable future.
In Pearce’s Liverpool-centric segment, he sheds further light on Marc Gueye’s potential move. Liverpool currently expect the player to remain at Palace until the end of the season, and that has not changed as a January move is deemed unrealistic. With the player a potential free agent, the financial package required to convince Guehy to move in January, rather than the lucrative option he was offered in the summer, would involve a large signing-on fee and a hefty price agreed with Crystal Palace. Manchester City are trying hard to sign the player in this window, but would need to pay a clearly exorbitant fee to do so.