Liverpool’s choice to not pursue Guehi additional now appears to be like clearer after new monetary particulars surrounding his transfer elsewhere emerged.
Ben Jacobs and Alex Criminal reported on X that Marc Guehi will earn round £200,000 per week at Manchester Metropolis, putting him among the many membership’s prime ten earners.
That single determine goes a great distance in direction of explaining why we had been ready to attend, stroll away, or finally lose management of the state of affairs.
Guehi wages present the place Liverpool drew the road
The England worldwide had been near becoming a member of us final summer time, with a £35m deal agreed, a medical accomplished, and Palace initially ready to promote.
Nevertheless, whereas the switch price was acceptable, wages at that stage would have positioned the previous Chelsea defender straight into Liverpool’s highest earners bracket.
That may have meant Guehi arriving on phrases corresponding to Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike, and never far beneath Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah.
To place the numbers into context, Capology knowledge exhibits Liverpool’s present prime wages sit inside a far tighter construction than Metropolis’s.
Liverpool prime wages (weekly):
Salah – £400k
Van Dijk – £350k
Isak – £280k
Gakpo – £250k
Wirtz – £200k
Ekitike – £200k
Against this, Metropolis already carry 10 £200k-plus contracts, which means Guehi’s arrival there suits an current mannequin fairly than stretching one.
That actuality explains why Liverpool had been comfy holding agency, even because the defender entered the ultimate yr of his contract.
Why Liverpool already had a Guehi different lined up
The frustration surrounding Guehi’s exit is comprehensible, notably after Fabrizio Romano confirmed the defender’s transfer was performed, however the wage context reframes the talk.
Liverpool’s recruitment group had already determined to not revisit the deal in January, preferring both a free switch subsequent summer time or different choices.
That considering additionally explains why we’ve been monitoring Ousmane Diao carefully, with the Senegalese centre-back seen as a extra sustainable resolution each financially and structurally.
At 21, the FC Midtjylland defender suits the profile Liverpool have repeatedly focused below the present regime, fairly than stepping straight into the highest wage tier.
That is additionally according to how we dealt with curiosity in Joe Gomez and managed the arrival of Giovanni Leoni, even with uncertainty round Ibou Konate’s contract state of affairs.
Guehi’s wages could also be fully acceptable to some supporters, however Liverpool have made it clear again and again that squad constructing is about steadiness, not simply expertise.
Seen by that lens, the quantity now being reported explains why this one was allowed to slide – even when the result will nonetheless depart a lot questioning whether or not persistence has as soon as once more been punished.
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