Chelsea have decided against making a free agent move for Ibrahima Konate as the Frenchman heads towards the final month of his Liverpool contract.
TEAMtalk journalist Graeme Bailey reports that while the idea of signing Konate is something they’ve toyed with, Chelsea have decided the finances involved don’t make sense.
Bailey reports: “Chelsea will not make an offer for Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate despite having monitored the France international’s situation closely.
“Konate has been a player of interest to Chelsea heading into the summer transfer window, with the Blues keeping tabs on developments surrounding his future at Liverpool.
“The prospect of signing a defender of Konate’s calibre without a transfer fee naturally held appeal, particularly after it became clear that the 27-year-old would be leaving Anfield following the breakdown of contract negotiations with the Merseyside giants.
“The Blues have decided against submitting an offer for Konate, despite the fact he would be available on a free transfer. Any deal would still require a substantial financial commitment in terms of wages, signing-on fees and agent commissions, and Chelsea have opted not to pursue the opportunity.”
? from @FabriceHawkins: Ibrahima Konate will leave Liverpool.
The defender has already informed his teammates of his decision and there is not expected to be any U-turn. pic.twitter.com/w94wIglP4s
— LFC Transfer Room (@LFCTransferRoom) May 30, 2026
Liverpool are making a mistake letting Ibrahima Konate leave for free
Konate’s free agent exit will make the sixth player to leave on a free transfer for Liverpool should Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker leave on free transfers as expected next summer.
To say FSG have mishandled the contract situation at Anfield in recent years is an understatement.
Not only is Konate leaving, Liverpool are yet to sign a replacement for Jarell Quansah after he joined Bayer Leverkusen last summer. There were no arguments made against selling the Englishman but not replacing him made little sense.
Now, Konate is leaving after Liverpool failed to reach an agreement with him on wages.
It’s going to be interesting to see how Liverpool replace him, but there aren’t many top-class centre-backs knocking around right now. With van Dijk 35 next season, there are some major question marks on the state of the Liverpool team right now.
Arne Slot is leaving the club after the bombshell announcement that FSG let him go, but his successor is walking into a mess.