Liverpool handed Marc Guehi transfer boost after Carabao Cup rule change

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Southampton could exploit a Carabao Cup rule change in their upcoming match against Liverpool on Tuesday night with manager Will Still able to call upon new signing Tom Fellows.

The Saints are coming into this tie following a 3-1 defeat to Hull City in their last game.

Under the previous EFL rules, the forward would have been forced to watch the game at Anfield as he'd already played in the competition for another team.

Fellows joined the Saints from West Bromwich Albion for an initial £8m at the end of August and has made two appearances so far for the South Coast club.

Prior to that, he played four times for the Baggies, one of those games being their Carabao Cup first-round tie against Derby County.

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Previously, the midfielder would have been cup-tied and ineligible to play against Liverpool due to his participation with the Baggies.

However, a recent change in EFL rules means that the 22-year-old midfielder is now eligible to play at Anfield.

According to Rule 6.4, a registered player is allowed to play for up to two clubs in the competition if they meet certain criteria - one of those being if the player has featured for his parent club in the competition before the end of the summer transfer window and has subsequently moved to a different club on a loan or permanent deal before the closure of that summer transfer window.

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has already admitted that they will be making significant changes to their line-up against the Championship team.

That could open up opportunities for Giovanni Leoni, Federico Chiesa, Wataru Endo, Joe Gomez and Rio Ngumoha to prove their worth against the Saints.

The new Carabao Cup rule does mean that, should the Reds make a January signing from a fellow English club, that they could still feature in the latter stages of the tournament.

That is provided they had not played for one of the other semi-finalists in the first leg of the final four.

So, in theory, if Liverpool were to reignite their interest in Marc Guehi in January, he could still play for the Reds in the semi-finals and final due to this rule change, despite having already played for Crystal Palace in this season's competition.

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The Reds are extremely unlikely to make a move for the England defender in January however given he will be available on a free transfer at the end of the season.