Liverpool players Jeremie Frimpong, Ibrahima Konate, Wataru Endo, Virgil van Dijk, Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo and Andy Robertson
Liverpool must now fend off a new suitor in their quest to convince Ibrahima Konate to sign a new deal at Anfield, after it was claimed Bayern Munich have now joined the chase, while Rio Ferdinand has gone head-to-head with another pundit over the “scapegoated” Reds star.
The Frenchman joined the Reds in a £36m (€40m) move from RB Leipzig in summer 2021 and has established himself as a core member of the Liverpool squad. Now regarded as one of the best defenders in world football, Konate’s current deal at Liverpool expires at the end of the current season.
Understandably, Liverpool have been desperate to secure Konate down to a new deal, with talks over an extension having first taken place over a year ago.
Last autumn, it was felt the Reds were close to tying the 26-year-old down, but some 12 months later, an agreement over a new offer feels further away than ever – leaving Arne Slot’s side with a growing fear that 25-times capped France defender could be the latest player to leave Anfield as a free agent.
Real Madrid have been regularly linked with his signature, and speculation of a move to the Bernabeu has gathered serious pace in recent weeks.
However, transfer journalist Graeme Bailey now claims Bayern Munich are ready to throw their hat into the ring – and the Reds’ fears of his exit are starting to increase.
“The ideal scenario for Liverpool is a new contract for Konate and signing [Marc] Guehi on a free, but this is football and obviously neither could happen,” Bailey told TBR.
“Richard Hughes, though, has gone head-to-head with Europe’s finest this summer, bringing in the likes of Isak, Kerkez and Ekitike – Liverpool fear nobody, both on the pitch or off it.
“But with Konate, they are aware that it is not just the likes of Madrid and Munich who could try and make him an offer, but they accept that – why wouldn’t someone like Chelsea make an offer if he is available on a free? Although clearly they hope it does not get to that point.”
With Konate’s future coming under the spotlight, two pundits have offered differing opinions on the player’s form – and the Liverpool star has received an unexpected defence from Man Utd legend Rio Ferdinand….
Rio Ferdinand defends Liverpool ‘scapegoat’ Konate
Speaking on Match of the Day, pundit Micah Richards claims Konate’s form in the heart of the Liverpool defence is starting to worry him and he suggests speculation over his future could be impacting him.
“Konate is starting to worry me a little bit,” Richards said on BBC Match of the Day.
“Him and Van Dijk have been a good partnership, but his individual errors at this moment in time are just making the backline look a bit nervy.
“You know Liverpool always look good in defence, Van Dijk always marshals the backline, but they give Palace too many opportunities for no actual reason, it was just being sloppy, and that is so unlike Liverpool.”
However, Man Utd legend Ferdinand Frenchman’s displays have come in for unnecessary flak and he feels the player is being ‘scapegoated’.
“There’s no way that Konate has a bad performance last season and he’s getting the headline treatment,” he said on Rio Ferdinand Presents.
“It’s only because of the interest from Real Madrid, and there’s going to be disgruntled fans and meet people in the media that support Liverpool who are going to now start pointing the finger and blaming him.
“Or whenever there’s a little mistake here, and if there’s blame to be put between two people, he’ll probably get it now because of that situation.”
Either way, the Reds will need to get some concrete answers on Konate’s future one way or another, especially in light of claims last week that he has rejected their latest contract offer, worth an eye-watering amount.
Latest Liverpool news: Slot’s emotional Diogo Jota admission; TWO defenders wanted
On the subject of possible replacements, Liverpool are making plans to sign not one, but TWO new defenders in the 2026 transfer windows, with sources revealing to TEAMtalk which player is at the very top of Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes’ wishlist.
Meanwhile, Slot has come clean on summer links to Victor Osimhen, explaining whether he was ever a target and having revealed why the tragic passing of Diogo Jota forced the Reds’ hand in the transfer market.
In other news, Slot has been told he may have been too hasty in his decision to offload Tyler Morton this summer, with the French media frothing at the mouth over the impact the 22-year-old has made in France and having compared him to a current Man Utd star in his prime.