New Liverpool manager Arne Slot found out his side’s fate after the Premier League fixtures were announced on Tuesday morning. Slot will take over from Jurgen Klopp ahead of the 2024/25 season after the legendary German manager decided to step down from his position at Liverpool following the conclusion of the last campaign.

Liverpool kick things off with a potentially tough fixture against newly-promoted Ipswich. They travel to Portman Road at 12.30pm on the first Saturday of the season, looking to kick off the new era in the best possible fashion.

Their first home game of the season sees the Reds host Brentford, with their new manager no doubt determined to get three points in front of the Anfield faithful at the first time of asking.

Liverpool’s first crunch match sees them travel to Old Trafford to face off against Manchester United. This is an exact repeat of the fixture from game week three in 2022/23, where United beat their rivals 2-1 thanks to goals from Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford.

That takes Liverpool into the international break before they host Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth in back-to-back home games straight after.

To help give his side the best chance of three points, Slot will no doubt want to dip into the transfer market.

In fact, they have already been linked with one player who could bolster his side ahead of a tough first few games.

Liverpool target Premier League centre-back

The player in question here is Crystal Palace and England international centre-back Marc Guehi.

The 23-year-old started England’s first game at Euro 2024 against Serbia and put in a superb performance. Now, he has been linked with a whole host of Premier League sides, including Liverpool.

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At least, that is according to The Telegraph. It explains that the young defender “caught the attention” of the Anfield club prior to the tournament, and he is still a viable option for Liverpool.

The Reds have been “alerted” to the fact that Guehi has just two years left on his current contract at Selhurst Park, which could see them make a move for the England defender this summer. However, although they are unnamed at this stage, they would likely face competition from other Premier League clubs.

Palace would not “entertain bids of less than” £65m for the 23-year-old, citing Everton’s valuation of Jarrad Branthwaite as a reason why they do not want to accept anything below that value.

How Guehi compares to Liverpool's other targets

23-year-old Guehi was a key player for the Eagles last season. He played 25 times in the Premier League for Palace, captaining the side on ten occasions in the top flight and in the FA Cup.

However, he did struggle with injuries struggling with a knee injury which led him to miss 13 games. This might not be too much of a concern for Liverpool, given Guehi has only missed three matches previously in his career, in 2020/21.

Guehi is not the only centre-back Liverpool have been linked with recently. Lille youngster Leny Yoro is reportedly a target, whilst impressive Italian centre-back Riccardo Calafiori is also under consideration by the Reds. Both stories have been reported by The Athletic.

When comparing the three players’ stats from Fbref, it is important to take in three main areas; passing, ball carrying and defending.

Starting with their passing, Calafiori certainly is superior to Guehi and Yoro. The Italian averages 3.69 progressive passes per 90 minutes, compared to 2.98 for Guehi and 2.29 for Yoro. Neither of the latter two would consider it their weakness, however, and both are still more than adept at progressing play forward.

In fact, this is shown by Guehi’s impressive final-third passing stats. He averages four per 90, compared to Calafirori’s 3.62 and the 18-year-old Lille defender who averages just 1.75. Given Lille have less of the ball than Bologna, and more recently, Oliver Glasner’s Palace side, it is somewhat understandable that Yoro’s numbers are lower.

When considering ball-carrying, it is once again an area where Calafiori is superior to the other two defenders. The Italian, who was superb in Italy’s first Euro 2024 game against Albania, averages 1.08 progressive carries per 90. In comparison, Guehi averages 0.67 and Yoro far less, with just 0.27 per 90.

Defensively, it is far closer between the three players. Whilst it is not always ideal to compare centre-backs based on defensive numbers, especially when considering Liverpool’s style of play, you can still read into it somewhat. Firstly, Calafiori wins 2.31 aerial duels per 90, more than the other two players. Yoro averages 1.48 per 90, whilst this is one of Guehi’s biggest weaknesses, although Virgil van Dijk would mask it. The Palace man wins just 1.29 with a 50% win rate.

In terms of ball recoveries, Calafiori is once again far superior to his defensive counterparts. The Bologna man averages 7.46 per 90 minutes, with Guehi showing his impressive ability to defend in wide areas with 5.33 ball recoveries, and Yoro slightly less, on 4.18 per 90.

The numbers suggest that Calafiori should be Liverpool’s overwhelming choice, but it is perhaps not as simple at this. Guehi - who is a "monster" in the eyes of Palace reporter Bobby Manzi - is already experienced in the Premier League, and would not have to bed into the league. Yoro has age on his side; whilst Guehi is 23 and Calafiori is 22, Yoro is just 18 and is only going to get better, and he will be around longer.

However, aside from being a fantastic player, as his stats suggest, what works in Guehi’s favour is his versatility. As football analyst Ben Mattinson explained, he is a player “who can play both sides equally as comfortably”, something that could be attractive for Liverpool. He can play with Van Dijk next season, and then when the Dutchman leaves Anfield, can slot in at right centre-back and replace the legendary defender.

Whilst his numbers perhaps are not as impressive as Calafiori’s, or he does not have age on his side like Yoro, there is no doubting Guehi’s quality and versatility.

It could be an excellent opportunity for Liverpool this summer to add quality at centre-back, who most important of all is Premier League proven and able to play with or without Van Dijk. Guehi could turn out to be one of the best signings of the summer at Anfield.

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