Ibrahima Konate has offered a new update on his Liverpool future ahead of his contract expiring next summer
France's defender #15 Ibrahima Konate attends a press conference at the Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium, in Baku
Ibrahima Konate attends a press conference at the Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium, in Baku
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Ibrahima Konate has revealed he hopes to announce his decision about his future ‘very soon’ as he dismissed claims that Liverpool had made him another new contract offer. The France international’s current deal expires at the end of the season.
The defenderrevealed back in January that he had been offered a new deal by the Reds, but was not yet close to signing an extension.
After lifting the Premier League trophy in May, he then branded social media speculation around his contract negotiations as "completely fake" and revealed his agent had held fresh talks with the club the previous week.
Now six months on and the 26-year-old is still yet to sign a new contract. Linked with the likes of Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, he will be free to sign a pre-contract agreement with overseas clubs from January 1.
But Konate is hopeful that his future will soon be resolved as he once again rubbished speculation about his contract negotiations with the Reds.
"I've seen a lot of things in the press recently, like Liverpool have made me a new offer,” he said. “I don't know where that's coming from.
“My agents are continuing discussions with Liverpool. I hope my decision will be made very soon so I can announce it.”
Meanwhile, Konate also shared his delight for Reds team-mate Hugo Ekitike after seeing the striker score his first goal for France in their 4-0 victory over Ukraine.
"At Liverpool, there’s a different intensity compared to the Bundesliga,” he said at a pre-match press conference ahead of France’s final World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan. “Everyone experienced that.
"I challenged him when he arrived. After training, he was a bit tired. He didn’t want to go to the gym at first, so I looked him in the eyes for five seconds and said, ‘Do you want to play for the French national team?’
“I left the room, and when I came back, he was in the gym. He works hard every day. He’s really stepped up in that regard. I think he turned a corner because of that.
He made a strong case for himself in France’s last match. I was extremely happy for him (after his goal against Ukraine), because he was heavily criticised before, especially during his time at PSG. He had some difficult times but he's on the right track."
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