Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish said the club would have faced a “significant risk” of relegation had they let Marc Guehi move to Liverpool.

The England centre back was in Liverpool for medical tests ahead of a deadline day move before Palace pulled the plug with Oliver Glasner reportedly threatening to walk away if the deal was completed.

To his credit, Guehi did not sulk and has played in every league game for the club this season, although has confirmed his desire to leave next summer once his contract expires.

With that in mind and the risk of losing him for free, Parish has explained that not having their club captain this season could have put them in a relegation fight rather than where they actually are in 10th.

“We did quite an analytical look at Marc’s worth and places in the league,” Parish told the Men in Blazers podcast. “What is the upside and what is the downside? It was a marginal call. Marc was great about it. They [Liverpool] made an offer and they are a massive club. He was interested in going but was fine about staying if that was the decision. It was a difficult one but definitely the right one.

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“One thing Oliver said, which says a lot about staying humble, is the reality of this football club is what we need to deal with day to day. It is something I learnt very early on. You can take absolutely nothing for granted. We needed to keep Marc because the difference between having a stellar season and a relegation-threatening season is probably winning five games.

“The margins are so tight. Yes. Michael [Olise] is gone, Ebs [Eberechi Eze] is gone and Wilfried [Zaha] went too but there is a limit before you break the fabric of the team. We felt it was a significant risk. With all the calculations, we decided it wasn’t the right time.”

As for Liverpool, Guehi may have felt like he dodged a bullet with the club having lost six of the last seven matches they faced.

After being knocked out of the League Cup by Palace, Slot suggested his squad was thin on numbers despite spending around ￡450m this summer.

“I’ve seen the struggles some players have had in pre-season,” he said. “It’s a new challenge to play in the Premier League and Champions League, three games in seven days.

“Our squad is probably not as big as people think it is. There has not been a change in the way we look at this.”

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