It's no secret that Liverpool have yet another contract situation to sort out, this time Ibrahima Konate, after having the task of re-signing Virgil Van Dijk, Mo Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold just last year.
With two out of the three putting pen to paper and continuing on their journeys with the Reds (Van Dijk and Salah) the focus of Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards turned to the next important player that is now into the final year of their deal with the Reds, that being the French centre-half, with rumors of a move to Real Madrid beginning to circulate.
The question is, will Konate sign or have Kopties seen all this before?
An important part
There is no doubt the importance of the 26-year-old in Arne Slot's system, playing alongside the skipper Van Dijk for most of the title winning season and establishing himself as half of the first choice pairing for the Reds.
However, in the past he has had his injury frustrations, with a number of muscular injuries during his time on Merseyside, that saw the defender miss a month here and there, though when fit he is a certain starter in Slot's side.
So even despite the injury concerns in the back of some Liverpool fan's minds, they would mostly agree that Konate is an important member of the team and would definitely be disappointed if the valuable Frenchman were to leave, especially for nothing, with his valuation on transfermarkt.co.uk being £51 million.
Sense of deja vu?
As referenced earlier, this isn't the first time Liverpool's faithful have had to go through a long, drawn-out contract renewal and not all of them have actually paid off.
Konate's situation can be seen as very similar to that of Alexander Arnold and his move to Real Madrid, only last summer, with the Scouser leaving his boyhood club for the sun of Spain on a free transfer after refusing to sign a new deal with the Reds.
In terms of the comparisons between the Frenchman and Trent, there are many different layers that need to be considered when looking at their contract situations.
Firstly, Konate is not a local lad for Liverpool who grew up supporting the club or even having any affiliation to it whatsoever before signing in 2021 and the fact that Alexander-Arnold did come from the city was the main reason why the discontent amongst fans was much more towards him.
However, the way they are both handling the situation can definitely be compared, as neither player really played well during the uncertainty around their future.
Now, obviously Konate has only played a couple of games so far this season and has time to improve, which to be fair he did against Arsenal last week, however his performances against Bournemouth and Newcastle were lacking the quality we know he has and they gave the same sort of impression as Alexander-Arnold's performance against Manchester United last season, like his head was somewhere else.
It's no secret in football that a settled player is a happy player and a happy player is likely to give you their best performances and it's clear that Konate isn't at his best right now and with some Liverpool fans beginning to turn on the Frenchman due to his silence on a contract renewal, his place could be under threat with new signing Giovanni Leoni and Joe Gomez waiting in the wings.
International break comments
For some reason when players go on international duty they seem to be much more open with talking to the media and giving comments. Maybe it's because they are more relaxed away from the stress of club football and the positive vibe on an international camp?
Either way, amidst all the contract speculation and Madrid rumors that surround Konate at the moment, he too has had something to say regarding other French teammates encouraging the move to the Spanish capital.
When asked about fellow French star and Real Madrid player Kylian Mbappe and his input on if Konate would join the Spanish side, he said: "He calls me every two hours!"
Ibrahima Konaté:
— Transfer Sector (@TransferSector) September 7, 2025
“Mbappé pressuring me to join Real Madrid? He calls me every two hours! [Laughs].” 🇫🇷👀
[@telefoot_TF1] pic.twitter.com/MwUeQpUErr
It's obvious when hearing the Frenchman speak that it is a joke, however it's unlikely that this is what Liverpool fans want to hear, especially when they expect you to be going for another Premier League title.
It would've been easier if he had answered more politically, perhaps deflecting the question and moving on, therefore not displeasing either Liverpool or Real Madrid fans alike.
What is the right decision?
When looking at what the best outcome could be for Konate and Liverpool as a club you have to look at a number of factors.
Firstly, from the 26-year-old's point of view, the champions of England have just had one of the greatest transfer windows of all-time, with the likes of Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz walking through the doors of the AXA, whilst keeping the experience of Van Dijk and Salah for most likely another two years.
Also, with Van Dijk in perhaps the twilight of his career, there is a spot open for Konate to become Liverpool's number one centre-back for the next seven years.
However, for any player the prospect of playing for Real Madrid and Barcelona is always something the English clubs have struggled to shield their best from, with the likes of Suarez and Coutinho to Beckham and Ronaldo all falling for the La Liga giants, when those two Spanish clubs come calling there is little you can do about it.
With fellow French teammates like Mbappe and Tchouameni already at the club, you could see Liverpool's defender settling in very nicely into Xabi Alonso's back three system.
On the other hand, you have to consider what is best for Liverpool and their intentions going into the following season.
There is no doubt that the Reds were hoping to get another defender through the door last summer in the form of Marc Guehi, which may give some clue into the future of Konate, and with the potential of getting the Crystal Palace centre-back on a free next year, they may just decide to cut their losses with the Frenchman and agree to part ways.
Also, with rumors coming out that Konate is demanding £200,000 per week, the Reds will need to consider if that is a fair price for the ability of the French international, as partner Van Dijk was given a £400,000 per week deal at the end of last year.
That's really for Liverpool fans to decide if he is worth that amount, however it is still very unclear what the fate of Konate will be, will he be like Van Dijk or will he be like Trent - only time will tell.
