Liverpool are gearing up for another hectic summer transfer window in 2026, building on the \u00a3400m-plus they spent the year before. A new centre-back remains a priority, and the club intends to bring one in regardless of whether Ibrahima Konate stays or leaves.<\/p>\n
Konate\u2019s situation has been the subject of intense speculation, with his contract set to expire at the end of the season. Although Liverpool have been negotiating a new deal and were frontrunners after Real Madrid cooled their interest in the Frenchman, there is still a strong possibility he will not be at Anfield next season.<\/p>\n
Liverpool prepared to let Konate walk away for free<\/p>\n
According to Football Insider, Mick Brown claims Liverpool are seriously considering allowing Konate\u2019s contract to run down without offering an extension, meaning he would leave on a free transfer next summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cReal Madrid stepping back doesn\u2019t guarantee he remains at Liverpool. I\u2019ve heard the club have concerns about him, and those worries have grown due to his underwhelming displays this season. On his day he\u2019s excellent, but he has that flaw where a lapse can cost the team,\u201d Brown explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cLiverpool feel they can upgrade in that position, so they\u2019re unsure about committing to a new deal, although it\u2019s still an option. Even without Madrid, he won\u2019t be short of interest if he becomes a free agent.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t a shock to me that Madrid walked away. They\u2019ll have watched his performances and decided they need someone more consistent. Liverpool may be thinking the same, so there\u2019s a very realistic chance he moves on\u2014just not to the destination many expected.\u201d<\/p>\n
Should Liverpool meet Konate\u2019s demands?<\/p>\n
So far, Liverpool and Konate\u2019s representatives have been unable to strike an agreement, with the defender seeking a major rise in wages. Given his form this season, it\u2019s understandable that the club are hesitant to commit to another substantial contract.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Liverpool are gearing up for another hectic summer transfer window in 2026, building on the \u00a3400m-plus they spent the year before. A new centre-back remains a priority, and the club intends to bring one in regardless of whether Ibrahima Konate stays or leaves. Konate\u2019s situation has been the subject of intense speculation, with his contract …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":56298,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/COS-FeaturedHero-Image-Templates-5-3-1200x722.jpg.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=56297"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56297\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56299,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56297\/revisions\/56299"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/56298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=56297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=56297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=56297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}