The exit of Ibrahima Konate would pose significant problems to Liverpool in the summer window, Reds transfer expert David Lynch has admitted.
Boss Arne Slot has managed to win the club their 20th league title, and the Dutchman is set to strengthen the team in order to ready his squad for when the attempt to defend their crown next season.
However, right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold will depart Anfield in the summer, and centre-back Konate could be joining him on his way out considering he has just a year left on his contract.
When asked by Sports Mole about if supporters should worry about Konate’s future, Lynch expressed his concerns that Slot may soon have to replace a fundamental part of his team, saying: “He’s a massive part of Liverpool’s success this season and keeping him fit has been an absolute triumph. [Injuries have] been the big question mark over him for a long time but apart from being fallen on by Endrick, he’s been fit all season.
“He’s a phenomenal player, he’s coming into his peak and so [his contract] is a concern – the ideal situation for everyone is that they sign him up. It’s frustrating that it’s Real Madrid who are involved and I wish they’d find their own targets. They’re always involved where Liverpool are either signing players from them or trying to pick them up on a free.
“That’s a nightmare for Liverpool. It’s a tough one because they have a decision to make in terms of if they can’t get this contract sorted, do they just sell now? But there’s already so many question marks and areas where players are likely to leave coming into this summer. We’re talking about a transition season – you’re going to make it worse if you start to force sales like Ibou Konate.”
Konate has been a stalwart at the back alongside Virgil van Dijk, and the duo have both helped the team keep 14 clean sheets in the Premier League, the most in the top flight.
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Should Liverpool let Konate leave for free?
Real Madrid have been touted as one club with interest in securing Konate’s services, and it is difficult to see the 25-year-old turning down a transfer to Los Blancos given their history of attracting star players from the biggest clubs in the world.
However, considering the Reds are in the market for a starting left-back, a right-back and starting forwards, having to replace Konate could be a problematic expense.
Lynch made the argument that keeping the centre-back for the remainder of his contract could be for the betterment of the club given the importance of continuity, telling Sports Mole: “With Konate, if they can’t sort this contract they’re going to have to just bite the bullet and lose him for free.
“They have lost a few players for free in recent years but a lot of those have been decisions that Liverpool have taken too – they’ve not necessarily needed to generate funds from selling them and they thought ‘well we’d get 10 million for someone like Emre Can in the last year his contract or we get in the top four this season and then he can go and we’re happy with that.’
“Trent’s a different case to that but Liverpool are willing to allow people to leave on free if it suits them. Konate will be a slightly painful one because he’s coming into his peak years and if it is Real Madrid, that is frustrating because that’s what they do.”
Though Real Madrid made a bid for Alexander-Arnold in the January transfer window, the decision to keep the defender helped the team win the Premier League title, so perhaps keeping Konate would help Liverpool challenge next term.
Who could leave the club?
While Konate is a candidate to leave Anfield in the summer, a number of other players could also find themselves heading for the exit door.
Centre-backs Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah have both been linked with moves away, left-backs Andrew Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas could be sold to make room for Milos Kerkez of Bournemouth, and forwards Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota have faced scrutiny this season.
Lynch claimed that the Reds may have to keep some members of the squad at the club in the summer against their wishes to avoid too much turnover, when he told Sports Mole: “I would accept that you can go front to back and say how many players there are doubts over in this squad – in fact it’s easier to say the ones there aren’t. Kostas Tsimikas, Joe Gomez, Jarell Quansah, Trent’s going.
“Endo they would probably sell, Harvey Elliott – question marks there. Up front, Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Federico Chiesa. They can’t all go and I would say confidently now there’s no way they all go. There will be some of them that want to go that are kept against their will because Liverpool will not want to get into a situation where they are selling eight and need to buy six or seven.
“Timing [will be important]. If a bid comes in for Quansah and it comes in before one for Gomez, and Liverpool accept it and Quansah goes, that could decide what happens with Gomez. A lot of it’s going to come down to timing because as much as this is going to be a summer of change – and you can guarantee there will be turnover – they’re going to want to limit it to something that’s manageable.”
Slot looks likely to add left-back Kerkez and right wing-back Jeremie Frimpong to his squad, but making so many additions could disrupt the chemistry in his title-winning team.
