Whilst it's true that players can be signed up to three weeks after the season has kicked-off, in order to not upset dressing room equilibrium and have something resembling a settled starting XI, getting transfer business done now clearly has its advantages.
Liverpool have worked the transfer market well
One club that's worked the market very well so far this summer is Liverpool.
Florian Wirtz, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong are the headline signings, with the captures of Armin Pecsi and Freddie Woodman going under the radar somewhat.
Trent Alexander-Arnold has moved on to Real Madrid and it's understood that Luis Diaz is angling for a move away too, so the makeup of Arne Slot's XI could look markedly different from their title-winning side from last season.
Next through the door at Anfield is expected to be Crystal Palace captain and England international, Marc Guehi. Reports suggest that talks have begun between the respective parties, and there are reasons why a deal would make sense for both the south Londoners and the Merseysiders.
Jarell Quansah has also recently departed the Anfield outfit to join Bayer Leverkusen, whilst it's understood that Ibrahima Konate has turned down Liverpool's recent offer to extend his contract - which ends in 2026 - until 2030.
To that end, the Reds would almost certainly prefer to get some money for him now rather than losing him on a free - as with Alexander-Arnold - next summer.
Konate and Guehi are in the last year of their contracts
The same scenario is in play with regards to Guehi, and whilst Palace chairman, Steve Parish, had managed to keep the vultures at bay over the last few transfer windows, with only 12 months left on the centre-back's deal, he too really needs to move on, albeit the south Londoners will want a replacement in place before considering Guehi's exit.
So, what would Liverpool be getting were they to land the 25-year-old? For a start, the best years of his career if we take the view that a player doesn't reach his peak until he reaches 27 or 28.
With Virgil van Dijk opting to play on the left side of central defence despite being right-footed, Guehi can slot into the right-sided berth, though is also able to switch given his excellence with both feet.
In terms of a comparison to Konate, although the Liverpool man has a higher tackle success rate (63.4% to 55.9%), it's a little misleading as Guehi has both attempted more tackles (68 to 41) and won more (30 to 26).
One might argue, of course, that Liverpool were so dominant last season that their back line were comfortable for the most part.
Elite passing accuracy underscores Liverpool's play
Both players love the physical side of the game, and in terms of one-on-one duels, Konate attempted 220 in 2024/25, with a success rate of 65.9%, placing him a solid eighth amongst his team-mates. 106 ball recoveries also places him within the upper echelon.
In an Eagles side that were fighting for their lives initially last season, Guehi would've really had to get in amongst it. His 313 duels attempted had a 60.1% success rate, whilst 166 recoveries had him as the third best at Palace in this regard.
Slot's swashbuckling XI like to play on the front foot as much as possible too, so Konate's 90.3% passing accuracy isn't a surprise. 1824 completed passes from 2019 attempted is an outrageously high percentage.
Palace under Oliver Glasner were a little more pragmatic, whilst also looking to attack whenever possible. Guehi's 84.8% completion stat is well behind the Frenchman's, however, it's also the best showing from a Palace player that has attempted at least 500 passes.
Three goals from the England international with a 77.8% shot accuracy certainly isn't the worst output for a defender, and compares very favourably to Konate's single goal and 25% accuracy, evidencing that Liverpool could have another weapon to use at set pieces in the future should Guehi sign.
In terms of discipline it must be said that both players enjoy playing right on the edge, and utilising that style of play inevitably means the odd late challenge or two will result. Guehi's eight yellow cards are two more than his contemporary, and the Palace man also saw red on one occasion last season.
Liverpool's interest is understandable
In both instances, given the physicality of the Premier League, that's pretty good going for players who like to get their foot in when required.
Frankly, it's easy to understand too why Liverpool would be tracking Guehi, and the likelihood is that they'll not have to pay anywhere close to the £70m that Palace demanded from Newcastle a year ago.
