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Liverpool remain on the lookout for a new centre-back this summer.

Having already strengthened the full-back positions and the midfield department, they are now setting their sights on the heart of defence.

Crystal Palace’s captain Marc Guehi is the name of the centre back who has been linked the most to Liverpool in recent weeks and we exclusively revealed at the start of this month that Liverpool had agreed personal terms with the English centre-back.

Guehi is into the final year of his contract with Crystal Palace but the London club are holding firm on their valuation of the player, despite the risk of losing him for free next summer.

The recent number was rumoured to be around £50m for the defender, a figure Liverpool are not currently eager to match and as a result have started to look elsewhere in case a deal for Marc Guehi fails to materialise.

According to Liverpool journalist David Lynch, the club are prioritising a young centre-back with room to grow and as a result have identified Parma’s Giovanni Leoni and Wolfsburg’s Konstantinos Koulierakis who “have been watched.”

Leoni enjoyed a successful year in the Serie A last season, as he featured 17 times and scored one goal.

The Palma player is only 18 but already stands at an impressive 6’4” and can also be played at right-back.

Koulierakis is 21 and an established senior international with Greece and played 38 time for Wolfsburg last season.

Koulierakis has also been deployed at left-back in the past, so both players boast a level of versatility that is appealing to Arne Slot.

It is not surprising that Liverpool are in the market for a centre-back.

Ibrahima Konate continues to stall over signing a new deal with Liverpool amid reported Real Madrid interest, Joe Gomez lacks the ability to stay fit for any sustained period of time and with Virgil van Dijk turning 34 this week, only time will tell how much longer he will operate at the highest level before hanging up his boots.

Marc Guehi will turn 25 this month, so he is a signing that makes sense for the immediate and long term future as he already has 230 senior club and international appearances under his belt.

However, Crystal Palace are proving to be tough negotiatiors, and it remains to be seen whether Liverpool will pull out of the deal entirely, and turn their attention to alternatives such as the duo mentioned above.

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