£40m deal would work against Liverpool in reported defender pursuit

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An expected deal elsewhere looks set to work against Liverpool in their reported defender pursuit. Things won’t be easy for the Reds.

It appears that Liverpool want Ibrahima Konate. BILD’s Christian Falk claimed that a little while ago.

And now Rory Smith heavily hinted at it on the Guardian’s Football Weekly.

“I think Liverpool intend to sign a centre-back in the summer and I think that central defender is probably someone they will play against in the Champions League’s Last 16,” said Smith. “And I don’t think it’s going to be Dayot Upamecano.”

That almost certainly has to be Konate, then. He’s the other outstanding young centre-half at RB Leipzig, Liverpool’s Last 16 opponents.

But Upamecano’s name is very relevant here. His situation will impact Liverpool’s pursuit – it simply has to.

Double blow

We can all expect Upamecano to leave RB Leipzig at the end of the season. Per Kicker, he has a release clause that comes into effect in May for around £40m.

Leipzig can do little about it, then. That same Kicker article details Bayern Munich’s interest, while BILD detail Chelsea’s.

Someone will pay that fee for, arguably, the best-value defender on the market this summer. And that puts RB Leipzig and Liverpool in a difficult position.

Konate may be perfect, which will be why Liverpool want him. He’s young but experienced, and can play their high-line style.

But are Leipzig really going to entertain selling both Konate and Upamecano? On the face of it, that feels very unlikely.

And Upamecano is the one they have no control over – if someone pays for him, he’s gone. Konate, then, is the one they can keep, should they want someone to stay.

Losing both centre-backs would be a massive blow to any team and Leipzig may want to avoid that. If they do, Liverpool will see their plans suffer.

There’s no doubt that any Upamecano deal works against Liverpool, then. It just has to make Leipzig that little bit less likely to deal.

They’d already have money from the other transfer and losing both upends their team considerably.

Liverpool may have found their ideal defender but doing a deal this summer is no guarantee.