According to a report from L’Équipe, Liverpool are confident about extending the contract of Ibrahima Konate. The French centre-back has been ever-present under Arne Slot and the Reds want to secure his long-term future amidst interest from the likes of Real Madrid and PSG.
After making a name for himself at RB Leipzig, Konate joined the Merseyside club in the summer of 2021 and he has only gone from strength to strength since. He has managed to completely earn the trust of Arne Slot and has featured in a total of 41 fixtures this season.
The 25-year-old has contributed towards four goals and has certainly played a big part in their Premier League triumph. While he is a key part of Slot’s plans, his future has been up in the air with his contract running out in the summer of 2026.
With him set to enter the final year of his deal at the club, PSG and Real Madrid are keeping a close eye on his situation. The Ligue 1 giants see him as an ideal fit for their project and are keen to have the best French talents representing their club.
Meanwhile, Los Blancos are always on the lookout for opportunities to sign the best players on a cut-price deal or a potential free transfer. They consider Konate to be a top-level centre-back who could further bolster their defence.
While two of the biggest clubs have their eyes set on him, Liverpool are confident about securing his long-term future. The Reds have been in discussion with the player’s camp for months.
They were hoping to wrap up his renewal quickly after making an offer last December but the terms of the deal didn’t please Konate’s camp. As a result, things didn’t go ahead and no progress was made even after another round of talks in March.
Of late, there has been another round of discussions and the Reds’ sporting director Richard Hughes is set to hold talks with his agent in the coming weeks. They want to sort out his contract by the end of the summer to ensure they do not risk losing out on him for free next summer.
The wages will be the biggest talking point between the two parties and it will be interesting to see if the Reds are willing to meet the demands of Konate’s camp. As things stand, the Merseyside club are confident that they can renew his deal in the near future. The player’s camp are quite calm about the situation and the player hasn’t ruled out anything as of now.
