Liverpool’s ability to future-proof and build its squad has become a major talking point in recent months.
Few questioned the club’s summer transfer plans when the window shut on September 1. Now, however, those recruitment processes have come under increased scrutiny. A lack of center-backs, wingers and a holding midfielder has left plenty scratching their heads.
That only heightens the pressure on the next two windows. As Jamie Carragher referenced this week, the side built by Jurgen Klopp is aging, and additions are needed to build another title-winning team. Yet Liverpool’s transfer plans will also be dependent on which players depart.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s exit, for instance, has created issues at right-back this season.
But Liverpool’s concerns of losing another player to Real Madrid for free were eased on Friday, with reports from The Athletic that Los Blancos’ interest in Ibrahima Konate has been withdrawn.
That decision from Real increases Konate’s chances of remaining at Anfield beyond the summer, although interest from elsewhere remains, with reports of Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich monitoring the defender’s situation.
Ibrahima Konate
Real Madrid has reportedly withdrawn its interest in Ibrahima Konate (Image: Getty Images)
Sorting Konate’s contract situation is unquestionably the biggest uncertainty heading into the summer, with the 26-year-old’s current deal set to expire at the end of the campaign.
Regardless of Konate’s situation, center-back is increasingly becoming a position Liverpool will need to address in the coming years, with Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez possibly set to depart for free in the summer of 2026.
Before then, another major defensive decision is required: whether to offer Andy Robertson a new deal.
The Scotland captain’s nine-year stint as a Red may come to an end this summer when his current terms expire, and he recently told Liverpool.com that he remains relaxed about the decision.
Andy Robertson on the ball
Robertson's contract expires at the end of the season
“They [Liverpool] have done everything for me and my family. I think I've not been too bad for them in terms of signing from Hull for £8 million and what I've done,” the left-back said earlier this month.
“Whatever happens will happen behind closed doors, and I'm relaxed about the whole situation. If it is my last year, then it's my last year. If it's not, then so be it.”
Other, more long-term significant contract questions are coming into sharper focus. Of the seven players whose deals expire next year, a possible departure for Alisson could prove seismic.
While a ready-made replacement lies in wait, the prospect of allowing a goalkeeper widely regarded as still among the world’s best would likely cause some degree of anxiety.
Like Konate and Robertson, determining Alisson’s next steps is among Liverpool’s biggest contract decisions that need imminently addressed.