Liverpool defender 'will certainly depart' when his contract expires this summer - it's not Ibrahima Konateplaceholder image
Liverpool defender 'will certainly depart' when his contract expires this summer - it's not Ibrahima Konate | Getty Images
Liverpool have a handful of players out of contract this summer with one ‘certain’ to leave Anfield at the end of the season
Liverpool have a number of contract situations to solve before the end of the season with a handful of players now in the final months of their respective deals at Anfield.
Players who are in the final six months of their contracts are free to speak to clubs outside of England to agree a pre-contract ahead of any potential summer move.
The two biggest names out of contract with the Reds this summer are Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate. Ahead of the summer, goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher only had 12 months on his contract before heading to Premier League rivals Brentford in a deal worth up to £18m.
With Robertson and Konate not yet agreeing new deals, the situation has major parallels to 12 months ago when the Reds had Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold in the final months of their respective deals as Arne Slot’s side chased down the Premier League title.
New contracts were agreed for Salah and Van Dijk with Alexander-Arnold heading to Real Madrid.
Robertson and Konate are not the only Liverpool stars out of contract this summer. Freddie Woodman’s contract is reported to just be a one-year deal but the club does have a 12-month option on the third-choice goalkeeper.
Rhys Williams is also coming to the end of his time at Anfield, with his contract up in the summer. The defender played a big role for the Reds during the 2020-21 campaign as he helped an injury-stricken Liverpool side finish third and qualify for the Champions League under Jurgen Klopp.
He made a total of 19 senior appearances after debuting in September 2020, including playing nine times in the Premier League and on six occasions in the Champions League.
He was rewarded with a new deal in August 2021 but has failed to kick on from that moment. He has had loan spells at Swansea City, Blackpool, Aberdeen, Port Vale and Morecambe in recent seasons but some of those moves did not pan out.
Writing in The Athletic, Liverpool reporter James Pearce has said Williams could head out on loan this month. If he does secure a temporary move, he will already have played his final game for the Reds as Pearce writes he “will certainly depart on a permanent basis when his contract expires at the end of the season.”
Speaking about Williams after he stepped up for the Reds back in October 2020, then manager Jurgen Klopp said: "When players are not available and we cannot change it, we must not focus on it.
"Again, at the time of writing I don't know what the solution will be, but there will be a solution.
"On Tuesday night it was Rhys Williams and wow, what a performance. I love his attitude so much. The right amount of confidence and real courage in his approach. And I mean his all-round approach.
"This is a player very much in the early stages of his development. He is learning still. He learns every day. We must give him space to continue to learn, to make mistakes and come back from them. There is no pressure or expectation on Rhys from us other than to keep looking to improve and soak up all the information he can and if opportunities arise, due to circumstances, do his best."
He said: “I’ve got five months left and we need to see the option to stay or if there’s options to go and things like that. I’ll sit down with my family and decide.
“After a stressful summer, I’m just trying to enjoy being a part of it, and being a Liverpool player. I wanted to qualify for the World Cup and thankfully we’ve managed to do that. I need to see what myself and my family wants.”
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