Liverpool are the clear reigning champions of the Premier League for a reason, and they've been the champions of the offseason, too, bagging arguably the two biggest signings of the entire summer transfer window in Bundesliga stars Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz to further boost the best attack in the league. Contrast that to Tottenham, who have only signed Mohammed Kudus so far, and you can see how the difference in mentality begets a difference in results.
But the Kudus signing was a very good one for Spurs, who also made two strong bits of business with Bayern Munich in a permanent deal for Mathys Tel and the loan signing of defensive midfielder Joao Palhinha. And perhaps bargain center back Kota Takai can come good, too.
Still, Tottenham haven't signed a sure-fire Premier League superstar or even a superstar from another league, whereas Liverpool have signed two. And now, it looks like the Reds have added a third in the form of a transfer steal whom Tottenham have been watching for years.
Liverpool will soon have better CBs than Tottenham
According to a report from top transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, Liverpool have "agreed personal terms" with Crystal Palace star center back Marc Guehi in their search for an heir to Virgil van Dijk and a third center back to potentially usurp Tottenham and Arsenal as having the league's best central defensive trio.
Per Fab, a deal between Liverpool and Crystal Palace could be completed "soon", and the current figure being thrown around in talks is just 35 million pounds in a total package. Romano's report that Liverpool are close to Guehi comes shortly after Palace publicly admitted that they would be willing to sell the 25-year-old defender at a steep discount in order to avoid losing him for free in the winter.
Tottenham bid 70 million pounds for Guehi last year, but that was rejected, with Guehi rewarding Palace by helping them win the FA Cup in his final season with the club. Both Liverpool and Tottenham were the most interested clubs in Guehi this summer, tracking him in the case of a price drop, but now that his price has dropped, the Reds are the ones who will make the signing.
Granted, it seemed like Tottenham were only really after Guehi if Cristian Romero were to have left, and Romero maintained his loyalty to Spurs despite the firing of beloved manager Ange Postecoglou. Even so, Tottenham could have signed Guehi for half his market value and boosted their defense even further with this market opportunity. That's the difference between a champion and a club that finished 17th.