Ibrahima Konate in action for Liverpool against Burnley (Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images)
Liverpool fans will be relieved to hear there have reportedly been positive developments over the future of star centre-back Ibrahima Konate.
The France international is in the final year of his contract at Anfield, which has led to widespread speculation over his future.
It appears, however, that Liverpool are now confident of retaining Konate on a new deal, according to Defensa Central.
The report states that this has led to Real Madrid looking at other options, with the article listing players like Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi and Nottingham Forest’s Murillo as alternatives.
This could end up being a big boost for Liverpool, as it would prevent them from having to enter the market for a new defender themselves.
Keeping Ibrahima Konaté is the best option for Liverpool
Konate has been a strong partner alongside Virgil van Dijk for Liverpool in recent years, and it would surely be difficult to find a replacement for the 26-year-old.
It’s easy to imagine Konate as a good signing for Real Madrid, but perhaps they are no longer optimistic about getting a deal done.
Signing Konate for free would have been a fantastic deal, but it appears there are other options available to them.
Liverpool hope to avoid another Real Madrid raid
LFC fans will have some bad memories when it comes to players coming to the end of their contracts, as they ended up losing Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid this year.
The England international canceled his deal and eventually swapped Anfield for the Bernabeu, so it could be that Konate is tempted to do the same.
We’ll have to see how this saga develops, but perhaps this latest update suggests that Liverpool now have more hope of retaining this particular contract rebel.
