Konate ‘current position’ revealed as Liverpool future hangs in the balance

Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate is reportedly not desperate to leave the Premier League champions despite interest from Spanish giants Real Madrid. 

The Frenchman, who has entered the last year of his contract, has already turned down two offers from the Reds. Despite that, he is not in a rush to leave the club before the end of the transfer window.

The Premier League champions have been very busy this summer. Arne Slot’s side have signed Florian Wirtz, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, and Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike being the latest arrival at the club. Meanwhile, Liverpool have Alexis Mac Allister, Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz, and even Konate linked to moves away.

Liverpool fans are confident about their chances going into the new season based on the transfer dealings they have made. Hence, the rise in demand for Liverpool tickets. 

Konate expected to remain at Liverpool

Journalist David Lynch has now revealed that after discussions with people close to Konate, the player is keen to stay at Anfield over a move to Real Madrid.

Lynch said on the Sports Mole YouTube channel: “Real Madrid are clearly interested aren’t they – there is no question about that! But speaking to people close to Konate, I still get the feeling that his priority is to renew with Liverpool and there are talks there, but it is kind of stuck at the moment.

“I don’t think it has reached the point of no return and the player has definitely decided he wants to go to Real Madrid, I don’t get that feeling at all.

“That’s not to say that it won’t end in that way because that possibility is 100 per cent on the table, but we are still in the moment where there is hope there will be a breakthrough.”

Lynch added: “The player is not desperate to get out of Liverpool or desperate to go to Real Madrid, it’s not that kind of situation just yet, but they will have to put a contract on the table that is attractive to the player and, as of yet, that hasn’t happened.”

On the other hand, journalist Pete O’Rourke also corroborated what Lynch said, stating that he doubts a move to Real Madrid would be on the cards this summer.

O’Rourke told Football Insider last week: “I don’t see a move happening this summer. It would have to be a very good offer from Real Madrid to convince Liverpool to sell Konate, even though they don’t want him to run down his contract.

“You’re probably looking at over at least £40million to sell him now. I’d imagine Konate will end up staying at Liverpool this summer. The club will hold further talks with him to try and convince him to sign a new contract.

“So the player is in the box seat here, he can stay at Liverpool and talk to interested clubs in January with his contract running down as well. It’s a real worry for Liverpool because they’ve seen Trent Alexander-Arnold leave the club and they don’t want to see Konate do the same.”

Following the situation with Trent Alexander-Arnold who ended up leaving for Real Madrid, the Merseyside club is keen to renew Ibrahima Konate’s contract, as two new clubs have joined Real Madrid and PSG in the race for his signature.

Scout reveals Liverpool’s decision on Konate

According to former Man United and Blackburn chief scout Mick Brown, Liverpool manager Arne Slot is willing to replace Ibrahima Konate this summer.

“If Liverpool get the opportunity to sell Konate, they’d be open to it,” Brown told Football Insider back in June.

“From what I hear, there hasn’t been much progress in his contract talks, and they would rather make money on him now rather than let him go for free. Liverpool has got a few concerns about Konate because he’s got a mistake in him.

“They got away with a few last year because of their position so far ahead of everybody else in the table, but that won’t always be that way. If they want to win European cups and that sort of thing, they can’t afford that.

“It’s a hard thing to accept because he is a good player, but they feel they can upgrade on him. If they can go out and get a replacement, like Marc Guehi for example, it’s something they’re going to explore to improve their starting XI.

“And if teams come in for Konate, they’re going to listen to those offers. Ideally, they’d like him to sign a contract, and then they’ll have a decision to make about who is going to start, but if he doesn’t sign, they want to move him on.”

Slot’s impact on summer recruitments

“I spoke to the manager a few times,” Frimpong started speaking about the role of Arne Slot in his move. “He sounds very positive. He says I can bring a lot of energy and my qualities, my speed.

“Especially when a manager is talking positively about you, it gives you very good confidence that he believes in you. I’ve had good conversations with him.

“I’m really excited [to work with Arne Slot]. Even when I was at [the] national team, some of the Feyenoord boys would tell me about him and be like, ‘He’s the best coach I’ve ever had.’ Things like this.

“So, I’ve always heard good things about the coach. Now he’s going to be my coach, so I’m excited for that.”

On his part, Florian Wirtz also spoke about the conversations he had with the Dutch manager and his plans on how to play.

“The conversations were always really good,” Wirtz said. 

“I can remember the first time, he already showed me some scenes of how we want to play and how I could fit in the team. He was just telling me that I’m a player he really wants to have in his team and can bring the team a step forward. I just could imagine it [being] good to be in the team and to make it better because I have to make my performances every week – but I’m here for this.”

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