Liverpool Ramp Up Guehi Push as City Circles; Elliott's Reds Exit Looms

The Anfield hierarchy have shifted into overdrive in pursuit of Marc Guehi, with reports suggesting they're desperate to get a deal across the line before the window slams shut—a marked change from their summer approach when the England international slipped through their fingers on deadline day.

That August collapse still stings. Liverpool had agreed a £35m fee with Crystal Palace, only for the Eagles to get cold feet after failing to line up a replacement. It was a rare misfire for FSG, leaving Arne Slot to navigate the campaign with centre-back concerns that have plagued the Reds all season.

Guehi was always pencilled in as the long-term successor to Virgil van Dijk, and the assumption had been that Liverpool would simply wait until summer to grab him on a free transfer when his Palace contract expires. That calculus has shifted dramatically. Manchester City's injury crisis—with Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol both sidelined—has forced Pep Guardiola's hand, and the champions are now sniffing around the Palace captain themselves.

Transfer insiders claim Liverpool have moved swiftly in response, with sources suggesting they're "looking to close the deal right now" rather than risk losing out again. The urgency is real: one analyst stated that "Liverpool is renewing efforts to sign the English international" after learning of City's interest, making this month a genuine battleground for the defender's signature.

On the outgoings front, Harvey Elliott appears set for a departure of his own. The midfielder's loan spell at Aston Villa has failed to gain traction, leaving him starved of meaningful minutes. With another European move blocked by the rules governing players who've already featured for two clubs this season, his options have crystallised around a single destination: the MLS.

Mick Brown, formerly the Premier League's chief scout, told Football Insider that Elliott's Stateside switch now looks "almost certain." The veteran scout sympathised with the 21-year-old's predicament, noting that "the lad has got to be playing football," a reality that Villa simply cannot provide. Elliott was never a guaranteed starter at Liverpool either, but his current situation is far more dire—he's barely featuring at all.

Brown believes an MLS move offers Elliott a genuine reset. "A move to the MLS is the only way for that to happen at the moment, so that's the best option," he explained. "He can go out there for six months, focus on just playing and impressing, and then assess the situation in the summer and see what's available."

It's a sobering trajectory for a player of Elliott's calibre. A regular England squad player would surely have been within reach had he maintained consistent football, yet instead he finds himself facing an unlikely exile to North America in search of match minutes.