‘Passed his medical’: Liverpool transfer saga ends as Man City set to seal 5.5-year Guehi deal
Marc Guehi will soon be officially announced as a Manchester City player after having passed his medical with the Sky Blues.
Ben Jacobs reported on the process after Pep Guardiola’s side agreed to pay an initial £20m for the Crystal Palace player.
The defender’s contract had been set to expire in the coming summer, amid prior reported interest from Liverpool.
Man City beat Liverpool to Marc Guehi transfer
City are understood to have all but secured the signing of Guehi on a five-and-a-half-year deal, as covered by Jacobs on X (formerly Twitter).
Marc Guehi has passed his Manchester City medical ahead of joining from Crystal Palace on a 5.5-year contract. pic.twitter.com/BaHXbYFtGb
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) January 18, 2026
It’s unquestionably a blow for Arne Slot’s men, given the Reds find themselves more than a little short in the backline beyond the halfway point of the 2025/26 season.
Giovanni Leoni’s ACL injury has, unfortunately, ruled the Italian centre-half out of action for the remainder of the campaign.
| Injured Liverpool players | Injury severity |
| Giovanni Leoni (ACL) | August return |
| Conor Bradley (knee) | November return |
| Alexander Isak (ankle) | March return |
* Liverpool’s injury list at the time of writing in the 2025/26 season (Premier Injuries)
Meanwhile, Liverpool must trust that the first-choice partnership of Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate can survive until the summer.
Failing that, the reigning Premier League champions will find themselves in a world of bother.
Liverpool are right to stick to their financial principles
Fan frustration over our failed move for Marc Guehi is more than understandable, given the efforts Liverpool made in the summer to get this deal over the line.
It’s already been well-documented how the Englishman came to remain at Selhurst Park, with Palace ultimately pulling the rug out from underneath Richard Hughes at the 11th hour.
Liverpool had, perhaps naively, simply expected that the 25-year-old would repay the faith and wait until the summer window for the Reds to move back in for him without obstruction.
However, City’s reported wage offer of £300k-a-week, plus a £20m offer, greased the wheels enough to enable a mid-season switch.
Whether it is the disputed £300k-a-week or reported £200k-a-week, Liverpool can’t be blamed too much for baulking in the January window.
To put things into sharp context, even a £200k-a-week salary would have seen Marc Guehi clear both Andy Robertson (£160k-a-week) and Ibrahima Konate (£70k-a-week), according to Capology figures.
Agreeing on anything between the £200k-300k-a-week mark surely would only complicate matters further for the club during ongoing contract negotiations with our French international.
Liverpool will have to wait for Alessandro Bastoni and Nico Schlotterbeck
A January incoming now looks incredibly unlikely for Liverpool, particularly in light of the calibre of names being linked.
Empire of the Kop relayed reports back in November that Alessandro Bastoni remained of interest – but an asking price of around £80m would likely sideline a deal until the end of the season.
Likewise, Borussia Dortmund’s Nico Schlotterbeck is thought to have his admirers at the AXA training centre. Additionally, Liverpool seem to be uniquely placed to mount an offensive for the German, given that Bayern’s interest in the defender is said to have ‘cooled’.
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The post ‘Passed his medical’: Liverpool transfer saga ends as Man City set to seal 5.5-year Guehi deal appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.