Transfer rumours linking Ibrahima Konaté with Real Madrid aren’t new, with Liverpool’s 26-year-old French international centre half set to head into the final year of his contract and persistent chatter in recent months suggesting he’s a Madrid target.
He’s also been linked with Paris Saint-Germain as a potential free signing next summer if Liverpool can’t sort out a new contract. It’s Madrid, though, who are the most often talked about threat—and now Marca are claiming Konaté is the target for Los Blancos.
The Spanish outlet, who often function as a mouthpiece for Real Madrid, remind everyone that the La Liga giants have a fondness for free transfers, including their move to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold from Liverpool this summer.
In that case they ended up paying £10M to get him in a little early to play in half-empty stadiums in FIFA’s cash grab Club World Cup, but at its base it was still a case of targeting a player on an ending contract. It’s a common tactic, with Madrid also signing Kylian Mbappé, David Alaba and Antonio Rüdiger that way in recent years.
They also say Madrid work on these deals for years—and never mind that would be tapping up, which technically they aren’t allowed to do but everybody does to some degree. Oh yeah, and Konaté is currently target number one on that front.
Meanwhile, there continue to be whispers from the Liverpool end that a new contract is very much in the works for Konaté, which would be one way of wrapping up this transfer story. If it can’t be agreed, though, it will be interesting to see what happens.
If we get into August with the close of the transfer window in sight and the risk of losing Konaté for nothing next summer rising, it could be Liverpool will seek to sell the star centre half now no matter his importance in Arne Slot’s squad last season.