Liverpool will now have to spend the summer transfer window trying to sign a new centre-back.
It emerged late on Thursday that Ibrahima Konate is not signing a new contract and will leave for free at the end of June as a result.
Konate could move to PSG, while Liverpool are already working on replacements, and the possibility of Jarell Quansah returning cannot be ruled out.
Has Konate lived up to his potential, or does he leave having not quite reached it?
The curtain comes down on five up and down years as a Red 😓
Liverpool could re-sign Jarell Quansah to replace Ibrahima Konate
Quansah left Liverpool in the summer of 2025 and has since been in good form for Bayer Leverkusen.
After impressing in Germany, Thomas Tuchel previously suggested that the centre-back was ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold in the England pecking order.
He is now set to compete at the 2026 World Cup, unlike Trent, and a move back to Anfield is being mooted.
TeamTalk report that, internally, Quansah is being looked at as the club still have ‘huge admiration’ for his potential.
His name is said to have ‘featured during internal recruitment conversations’ as well.
But whether the player would actually want to return to Anfield at any point remains to be seen.
Quansah spoke about why he left Liverpool earlier this season, pointing towards a lack of game time.
He said: “I have been learning from some of the best players around me at the time at Liverpool.
“Being able to do that has been so good for my career. It has always been a big part of it. At this part of my career, 22 turning 23, [in January] I need hundreds of games to be where I want to be.
“I think overall that’s why the decision was made and why I thought going abroad was best for me.”
At the time, Konate and Virgil van Dijk were both ahead of the Englishman in the centre-back pecking order.
But now the Frenchman is leaving, and Van Dijk is entering the final 12 months of his contract, perhaps Quansah could be more open to a move.
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox
