Journalist James Pearce has provided a significant update regarding this potentially being Ibrahima Konate’s “final season” at Liverpool.
The Frenchman’s future has been a constant talking point, with Real Madrid reportedly trying to bring him to the club when his Reds contract expires next summer.
Now, responding in a Q&A for The Athletic, Pearce has dropped a new claim regarding Konate’s next step, admitting that there is a fair chance that this could be his last season at Liverpool:
“There’s still no clarity with dialogue over an extension ongoing. I wrote about Konate’s situation a few weeks ago when sources close to the player stressed that he hadn’t made a decision over his future and insisted that speculation in Spain that he had ‘already given his word to Real Madrid’ to join them as a free agent next summer was inaccurate.
“However, the longer it drags on, the more likely it is that this will be Konate’s final season at Liverpool. He could sign a pre-contract agreement with a club overseas from January 1. He’s had a strange campaign so far – a poor start, much improved for a handful of games and then another dip before going off with a quad problem against Chelsea.”
Konate more likely to leave Liverpool than stay?
If Konate was desperate to remain a Liverpool player, it does feel as though more progress would have been made regarding a new contract for him.
That said, the saga surrounding the futures of Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah dragged on last season, yet both legends ended up extending their stays at Anfield, which may give the Reds some hope.
The lure of Madrid is clearly huge, though, as Trent Alexander-Arnold has shown in the recent past, and it is easy to imagine Konate wanting to test himself there at this stage of his career.
Opinion may be split if he does depart, with some arguably rating him more highly than others, but ultimately, Liverpool should still want to be retaining the services of a 26-year-old international who has largely impressed during his four years with the Reds.
If Konate does go, a top-quality replacement such as Marc Guehi would be needed, with centre-back a key area of focus for the likes of Arne Slot and Richard Hughes.
