Glen Johnson Urges Liverpool To Complete Guehi Move In January

Liverpool have been seeking to fill the Fabinho-shaped hole in their midfield ever since his departure to Al-Ittihad, Saudi Arabia in 2023. They’ve found ways around the issue, but it remains an area Arne Slot will be keen to strengthen in the near future. We caught up with former Liverpool right-back Glen Johnson to discuss potential options for the Reds - as well as their pursuit of Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi.

Adam Wharton Won’t Fix Liverpool’s Issues

Liverpool have struggled to replace the qualities Fabinho brought to their side - his ability to sit in front of the defence, keep the ball moving, and maintain the team’s shape made him instrumental in allowing Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson to thrive going forward.

Their pursuit of Martin Zubimendi ended after he chose to remain at Real Sociedad, before eventually moving to Arsenal this past summer. One midfielder who has stood out this season, however, is Adam Wharton - who continues to impress in Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace side. But is he the answer for Liverpool?

"Wharton's a great footballer. Technically he's really good and he looks like the sort of player who would thrive playing with top players. And that role is very key. Any team that wins the league has a player in that position that does everything right and doesn't seek the spotlight."

"For Liverpool, it isn't the state where they need one player who can fix everything. Yes, Adam is a great player. He's a good player and he can probably help the midfield but they've also got players at Liverpool who when they spark to life, they can do the same thing."

"In terms of individual ability, I'm sure Liverpool would love to sign Wharton but he's doing well at Crystal Palace. I'm sure if he keeps doing what he's doing, there will be big clubs looking out for him."

Johnson Urges Liverpool To Make Guehi Move In January

As seen in the summer, Liverpool already hold an interest in another Crystal Palace star - defender and captain Marc Guehi. The centre-back has established himself as one of the league’s standout defenders and a nailed-on starter for England if fit for next summer’s World Cup. Johnson believes Guehi would be an ideal partner for Virgil van Dijk and has urged Liverpool to make their move in January.

"Guehi, everyone's been speaking about him for a while. I think he's got all the credentials to slot in perfectly. More importantly for me, I think he's the right age to be able to do it with van Dijk for a year or two."

"Whether van Dijk has been himself or not, is debatable. But in terms of being alongside someone you can learn an awful lot from playing with or training with or being in the dressing room with, that I think can be massive for Marc's future as well."

"The sooner you sign him, the better."

Guehi currently has odds of 4/7 for his next club to be Liverpool. Come December, those odds will only shorten, especially if Liverpool continue to struggle in defence and lose their grip at the top of the table.

Johnson Warns Liverpool Not To Put Pressure On Ngumoha

Rio Ngumoha grabbed headlines in the summer with his standout pre-season displays and a winning goal against Newcastle at the start of the season. However, recent weeks have seen his opportunities become limited - something Johnson believes Arne Slot is right to manage carefully as the youngster develops.

"The 1v1 stuff doesn't really happen now. With Rio, he's obviously a young kid and in that Southampton game, he didn't get a chance to be 1v1 because they were so scared of him that it was him against three or two. Which is respect to him, because he's a child and people are scared of him. So absolutely, if he can learn to deal with that and be more direct as soon as he gets the ball, he's going to be a nightmare for everybody. He needs to be trained for that.”

“Everyone's so scared of losing the ball. You get stats like 'you never beat the full-back blah blah blah', whereas if he had the green light to lose the ball in the final third, he'd never lose it."

"But we can't put pressure on him. He's a young kid and it looks like he will be special. So if he keeps doing what he's doing and gets the green light to attack full-backs, he would be the one to start on the left for me."

Read why Glen Johnson thinks Chelsea could win the Premier League this year