Ibrahima Konate is about to enter the final six months of his Liverpool contract.
The Reds have not had the best of luck over the last year or so with contracts, with Konate’s situation another one that looks like it will go right down to the wire.
Like they did with Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, though, they will be hoping that they can tie him down to a new deal, rather than losing him like they did with Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Do you want Ibrahima Konate to sign a new contract an stay at Liverpool?
His future is still very much up in the air, but it looked like a few avenues were blocked off, although new reports suggest that they could still be another twist in the saga.
Ibrahima Konate to Real Madrid could still be on the cards
Konate had been linked with a move to the Spanish capital very heavily in the past, but Madrid had ended their interest in him not too long ago.
At least that is what everyone thought as now, according to journalist Dean Jones of TEAMtalk, there is a chance he still joins them.
He reports that sources at Liverpool believe intermediaries have still been working in the background to try to draw Madrid back into the picture, and it might be working.
Madrid is said to be the only club he would be interested in joining, with it likely he will sign a new contract should they not come to the table.
The Reds still want to keep hold of him too, suggesting there could be a last-minute scramble to try and get him to sign, but they might now face an uphill battle if Madrid rejoin the race.
January is make or break for Ibrahima Konate
Liverpool can spend £100m in January if FSG are willing, who do you want to see signed? 💰
“Ultimately, if they want to spend £100m, there is nothing
stopping them. Whether they will or not is entirely down to the owners. They
have a £350m revolving credit facility – which you can basically liken to an
overdraft – that they can use if cash flow is tight. And if a blue-chip
centre-back is going to be the difference between qualifying for the Champions
League or not, it makes sense to pay a bit of a January premium and get a deal
done.”
Finance expert Adam Williams speaking to RTK about
Liverpool’s January transfer budget
This saga has dragged on for far too long already that Liverpool must now give Konate an ultimatum; either he signs a new contract or he tells everyone he is leaving on a free.
Of course the latter is far from ideal, but clarity will help the Reds plan their next move, with it likely being to bring in another centre-back in January, even though they should regardless.
Marc Guehi is who they should go for and they should be willing to go all-out to get him, especially as he would come fairly cheap too.
Konate has certainly picked up as of late, but they can still cope without him, so even if he does go, it will be onwards and upwards.
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