Ibrahima Konate’s future at Liverpool remains up in the air as the European elite circle the central defender for his services.
With the Frenchman’s contract up at the end of next season, and an offer for an extension on the table, all signs seem to point towards his time on Merseyside continuing. Yet according to Le Parisien, he is waiting until the end of the season to make a final decision.
As a result of all this uncertainty, interest in Konate continues to grow by the day with some of the world’s biggest clubs vying for his signature. Paris Saint-Germain is reportedly a keen suitor, with the player himself telling Téléfoot how “flattered” he was by the interest.
Speaking last month, with the two sides set to meet in the Champions League on Wednesday, Konate said: “Hearing big clubs like that being interested is very flattering, but now I’m focusing on this season; I want to win everything – take as many titles as possible and then everything that happens in relation to my contractual situation. It’s my agents, my advisors who take care of that.
“It would be nice on a personal level because I come from there, my parents and my family live there, all my friends are there. I grew up with people in Leipzig, and when there was Leipzig-PSG – they were for PSG instead of supporting me even though I grew up with them.”
But now the Parisian club has reportedly distanced itself from the former RB Leipzig man, says Get French News. In steps yet another big club – and it’s the ever familiar Galacticos..
Real Madrid, the likely destination for Reds defender Trent Alexander-Arnold, has held a long-standing interest in his French teammate and reportedly remain in the race. Whether the Spanish giants act on this interest and make a move for Konate in the summer is another question, as Arne Slot will surely do his best to keep him at Anfield.
Liverpool boss Slot will be eager to keep hold of Konate, given the uncertainty over the futures of Alexander-Arnold and skipper Virgil van Dijk, who are both out of contract in a matter of months. There have also been calls to seek a long-term successor to Andy Robertson at left-back.