Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate seemingly looks like he is staying put at the club this summer, following new comments about the season ahead.
The Frenchman only has one year remaining on his current Reds deal, with Real Madrid among the clubs linked with signing him before the new Premier League season gets underway.
Hopefully, Konate decides to sign a contract extension instead, and speaking to Liverpoolfc.com, he discussed the campaign that lies ahead, suggesting that he is going nowhere.
“Last season we came back with a new manager and he had a very good idea and he said before the season started what we have to do to win the Premier League,” Konate said.
“We just followed what he said and at the end we had a good result for the club. I think this season will be more difficult. Because for sure we are happy and we don’t have to forget last season, but we have to take the good parts of last season as well as the bad parts where we did not really great and work on that.
“We were champions last season and it’s finished now, we have to go again and try to do something even better than last season. That’s why the pre-season is very important. I know it’s very difficult for everyone but we need these tough sessions to be ready for the season.”
New Liverpool deal for Konate vital
There is always the risk that a team could come in from nowhere and turn Konate’s head in the coming weeks, but it certainly doesn’t feel as though he is going anywhere for now.
It is now Liverpool’s job to ensure that the 26-year-old is given the contract he deserves, having become Virgil van Dijk’s undisputed first-choice centre-back partner.
Van Dijk isn’t going to be around forever, so Konate needs to ideally become the future leader of Liverpool’s defence, with his peak years possibly still ahead of him.
The biggest positive surrounding him is that his injuries eased last season – he started 30 out of 38 Premier League games – and he will hopefully again be a regular throughout 2025/26, going up another level at the same time.
