Liverpool ‘Hatch Plan’ to Secure New Ibrahima Konate Contract | OneFootball

Liverpool have “confidence” in their ability to secure a contract agreement with key centre-back Ibrahima Konaté, amid transfer interest from Real Madrid.

Konaté is about to enter the final year of his current Liverpool deal and there have been rumours that Madrid could launch a Trent Alexander-Arnold-style approach for the Frenchman.

The Spanish giants have successfully taken advantage of Alexander-Arnold not signing a new Liverpool contract, with the England defender set to imminently arrive.

But while it seemed plausible the same could happen again, with Madrid still needing more central defensive reinforcement despite the capture of Dean Huijsen, Liverpool hope it won’t.

L’Equipe writes that, due to what happened with Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool have made Konaté’s case a “priority”. Their initial contract offer was rebuffed in December over the “insufficient” terms, but both sides agreed it was best to then postpone further talks until the summer.

Liverpool are hoping to keep Konaté. / IMAGO/Sportimage

The report explains that Liverpool intend to resurrect negotiations within the next two weeks, with optimism about a new contract being agreed before the new season kicks off. But salary is going to be the biggest issue, with the Reds having a strict pay structure and rarely straying from it—Mohamed Salah’s recent two-year extension is a relatively rare exception of that.

From Konaté’s side, the defender and his representatives are keen to remain “calm”, feeling that the metaphorical ball is in Liverpool’s court, and not ruling out anything at this stage.

In addition to Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain are also credited with interest in Konaté, although there hasn’t been a concrete offer and he isn’t considered a primary target for their defensive recruitment needs this year.

Konaté is about to complete his fourth season with Liverpool, with 2024–25 easily his best after finally becoming the regular partner to club captain Virgil van Dijk. He had previously risen to prominence at RB Leipzig, moving to Liverpool at the age of 22 in 2021.