Liverpool Star Aims Hilarious One-Word Dig at Marc Guehi’s Expense

Manchester City jumped in to sign the England centre back earlier this month.

Marc Guéhi almost joined Liverpool in September. | Alex Livesey/Danehouse/Getty Images

Hugo Ekitiké aimed a not-so-subtle dig at Marc Guéhi’s decision to sign with Manchester City, with a cheeky social media comment implying that Liverpool have no need for him.

Ryan Gravenberch had to fill in at centre back for Wednesday night’s Champions League thrashing of Qarabağ at Anfield, with Ekitiké there in the comments metaphorically screaming “Guéhi!!” in response to the Dutchman sharing pictures from the game.

Gravenberch was asked by manager Arne Slot to drop into the back four next to captain Virgil van Dijk, who bizarrely completed a hat-trick of assists in the 6–0 win. He wasn’t really tested defensively, with the Azerbaijani visitors struggling to create meaningful chances and his biggest contribution coming with the ball at his feet in Liverpool’s dominance of possession.

Still, a clean sheet is a clean sheet and it addressed some of the pregame concerns about who would partner Van Dijk without Ibrahima Konaté, on compassionate leave, and Joe Gomez, injured.

Guéhi almost became a Liverpool player last year, but he closed off the chance of that being resurrected when he accepted Manchester City’s offer to move there this month instead, rather than waiting until the end of his Crystal Palace contract and assessing things as a free agent.

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Liverpool Will Have Harder Games Than Qarabag

Wataru Endo was the other potential option to play centre back this week, having done so on occasion before. But neither he nor Gravenberch is a long-term solution, given that the Reds were always heavy favourites to beat Qarabağ, regardless of their impressive prior results.

When it comes to the hard and fast style of the Premier League, which is returning to a more physical competition after a decade more focused on the technical, it feels unlikely either Gravenberch or Endo will cut the mustard.

Slot is hopeful Konaté could be back for Saturday’s home clash with Newcastle United, but “cannot guarantee” it will definitely be the case.

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Liverpool Must Sign Centre Backs

There remains uncertainty about Ibrahima Konaté’s future. | Visionhaus/Getty Images

Depth in central defence is at a critical level for Slot. Konaté, out of action following the passing of his father, is not a long-term absentee, but it highlights the vulnerability that exists in the position. An injury to the Frenchman, who is still yet to sign a contract beyond this season, on top of Joe Gomez’s patchy fitness record and Giovanni Leoni out for months, could be catastrophic.

Any joking from Ekitiké aside, it shows exactly why Liverpool needed Guéhi last summer and why centre backs remain an urgent priority.

If Konaté opts for free agency, although it’s increasingly hard to see where the offers might come from after a poor 2025–26 so far, then the Reds probably need to recruit at least two centre backs, bearing in mind that Leoni is still a teenager and almost completely untested after just 17 top flight appearances in his career to date, and Van Dijk is coming up to the age of 35.

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