Bayern Munich and Real Madrid circle for Liverpool centre-back as Reds consider January sale to avoid losing defender for free.
Liverpool's Ibrahima Konate is on Bayern Munich's radar. The player, who is under contract with the Reds until the end of the season, has still not given any indication of renewal and with this, the Bavarians have begun to probe the defender's situation.
According to the Daily Mail, Liverpool have been pressuring the Frenchman to make a decision about his future. If the player does not want to renew his contract, the English side would not oppose it, but would try to negotiate his sale in January, to avoid the player leaving for free.
“Bayern will be watching closely how the decision will be made. Liverpool are pressing – they definitely want to sell him if he does not sign a new contract soon,” said Christian Falk, journalist at Bild.
“They already have a proposal in hand. They absolutely do not want to lose a player on a free transfer. If they manage to sell the player, they would immediately invest the money in Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace,” the journalist continued.
Bayern's decision depends on Upamecano's future
Still according to the information, Bayern Munich's decision on whether or not to sign the player will depend on Dayot Upamecano's future. The player's contract also ends at the end of the season and he has not renewed his contract. If he remains in Munich, the club will be satisfied with their options. Otherwise, they would attempt to sign Konate or Guehi.
IMAGO / Sportsphoto
Besides Bayern, another club that has shown interest in Konate's situation is Real Madrid. The European press has already reported that Xabi Alonso would like to have the French defender for next season.
In this case, the signing would be made in the same manner as Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kylian Mbappe, who joined Real without a transfer fee because their contracts had expired.
Konate experiencing highs and lows at Liverpool
Uncertain about his future at the Reds, Konate is experiencing highs and lows at the club. Against Aston Villa and Real Madrid, the defender met expectations and seemed to have turned things around, helping the team keep clean sheets.
However, against Manchester City and Nottingham Forest, the player showed a general drop in performance and made errors. Against opponents such as Bournemouth, Newcastle and Galatasaray, the player also did not perform well.
“I would like him to stay, but if he doesn't stay, Liverpool will sign another player. Liverpool will not crumble if Konate leaves,” former Reds defender Jamie Carragher recently told Daily Mail Sport.
“He is not Virgil van Dijk. He is a good defender who we hope will sign, but if he does not want to sign, Liverpool will be perfectly fine. He is a very good defender, he was a champion with Liverpool, he played the Champions League final against Real Madrid. He is obviously a quality defender. It is not bad management [if he leaves for free]. You cannot force someone to sign a contract. Then the decision is yours: do you keep him until the end of his contract or do you sell him?” he added.
In total, Konate has played 148 matches for Liverpool since 2021. The player was signed from RB Leipzig in 2021 for £35m.
This article was originally published on Trivela.
