Liverpool want the player.
OG wants to keep him this season and bed in a worthy successor who joins either this window, the Jan window, or worst case the beginning of the next summer window where there is at least a preseason.
Parish/the club want to extract value from the player and that means selling before contract expiry, or getting MG to sign a new contract.
There are no signs MG is keen to sign a new contract. There are signs MG want to ensure he has a free run at making the England squad, whether that is at Palace or Liverpool.
No other clubs seem to be in for him.
The more I look at it, the more a sale and loan back would make sense for all parties:
The player gets to stay at Palace and captain. He is a first name on the team sheet and a shoe in for England if he stays fit and maintains his form. There is no risk of getting scapegoated at a new club or left out after a few poor games, unlike at Liverpool where they have 4 CBs already. He also gets his dream move.
The club gets a fee - less than selling outright now probably, but once the 20% kick back to Chelsea is factored in, plus the cost and wages of replacing him now when we are over a barrell, we are not losing anything like the headline figures of £35m.
Liverpool secure the signing at a bargain price. There is one less player to amalgamate into an already disjointed squad given how many new arrivals there have been.
Is that CPFC tinted glasses thinking or is there some substance to that?