Real Madrid have added Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konaté and Inter Milan right back / right wing-back Denzel Dumfries this summer in addition to the recently confirmed signings of Chelsea left-back Marc Cucurella and Manchester City midfielder/right winger Bernardo Silva. 27-year-old Konaté and 30-year-old Dumfries bring plenty of big game experience and much needed depth to Madrid’s backline.
Konaté just completed his fifth season at Liverpool, having arrived in the summer of 2021 from RB Leipzig in a €40 million transfer. The Frenchman played a total of 183 games with the Reds, including the Champions League final against Madrid in his first season. Currently at the World Cup with France, Konaté arrives at Madrid on a free transfer after his contract with Liverpool expires at the end of June. With Éder Militão still recovering from the tendon injury to his left hamstring, the French centre-back will compete with Antonio Rüdiger and Dean Huijsen for a spot in the starting 11 to open the season.
Having just completed arguably his worst season at Liverpool, Konaté would most likely been unavailable to Madrid this summer had he been coming off a stronger season. But it must be remembered that we are not far removed from Konaté being a fundamental part of the Liverpool team that won the Premier League, receiving shouts of best centre-back in the league from various pundits throughout that season. That included former Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs centre-back William Gallas who in November 2024 said he considered Konaté the best centre-back in the country. Madrid is counting on Konaté regaining that form in the 2026 - 2027 season, having seen the entire Liverpool team, with the exception of Dominik Szoboszlai, have subpar performances this past season.
“Right now, the best defender in the Premier League is Ibrahima Konaté. On current form, there’s no one better. He has improved so much since last season and is incredibly solid. Watching him play, it’s clear opponents don’t even want to challenge him. That kind of aura and presence is what makes him special”
— - WILLAM GALLAS IN NOVEMBER 2024
The 6’4 Konaté is an imposing presence on the pitch, bringing a dominant aerial presence that will be welcomed at the Bernabéu. The Frenchman’s fifth season at Liverpool saw him finish sixth in the Premier with 124 aerial wins, winning 71.3% of the aerial duels he disputed in 3,100 minutes. To put that into perspective, Madrid’s four centre-backs (Militao, Rudiger, Huijsen, Asencio) won a total of 127 aerial duels COMBINED in La Liga in 2025/2026 in 6,053 minutes, averaging less than two aerial wins per 90 minutes. Konaté has won over 70% of his aerial duels in the Premier League each of the last four seasons, averaging a 71.9% win rate over that time. And his aerial prowess has been no less apparent in Champions League play where he has averaged a 71.6% win rate during the same time frame.
But Konaté’s physical abilities are not just limited to his height. This past season he registered a maximum sprint speed of 35.3 kilometers per hour in Champions League play, the second fastest on the Liverpool team and the fifth fastest amongst centre-backs in Europe’s top club competition. Only Kylian Mbappé (36.2 km/hr) and Fede Valverde (35.8 km/hr) registered a faster sprint speed than Konaté for Madrid in the Champions last season.
Fast centre-backs have always been highly valued at Madrid as the team dominates possession in the opponents’ half in La Liga and the recovery pace of the centre-backs is instrumental in combatting any possible counter-attacks. This has become even more important as Militão and Rüdiger, amongst the fastest centre-backs in Europe pre-knee injuries, have lost a step due to recurring injuries and age in the case of the latter.
Another point less talked about, but that likely factored into Madrid’s interest in Konaté: the center-back had four seasons playing behind, and covering for, Trent Alexander-Arnold. As the heat maps below demonstrate, Konaté played much closer to the right touchline in his last season playing with TAA at Liverpool than Militão did this past season, allowing TAA more liberty to move more centrally as he progressed up the pitch.
Dumfries arrived at Inter Milan five years ago, from PSV, for €14.3 million. The Dutchman played 207 matches with the Inter shirt, including 41 in the Champions League. Dumfries won two Scudettos in five seasons with Inter, but the Dutchman will be most fondly remembered by Inter fans for his spectacular Champions League semifinal performance vs. FC Barcelona in 2025, scoring twice and providing an assist that won him Man of the Match in Barcelona while distributing two assists in the 4-3 Inter victory at the Giuseppe Meazza that sent the Nerazzurri to the Champions League final.
Signing Dumfries is believed to be a direct request of José Mourinho. Madrid is expected to pay his €20 million release clause to have him compete with Trent Alexander-Arnold at the right back spot following the end of Dani Carvajal’s legendary career at the club.
Like Alexander-Arnold, Dumfries is more known for his attacking capabilities than his defensive contributions, albeit in differing ways. While Alexander-Arnold progresses the ball with his exceptional passing ability, generating a high volume of key passes, big chances and successful crosses, Dumfries progresses the ball primarily through progressive carries, reaching the rivals penalty box with much higher frequency than the Englishman. As illustrated below, Dumfries averaged 4.9 touches in the opponents’ penalty box per 90 last season, nearly identical to the 4.8 per 90 of Jude Bellingham, much higher than the 1.4 touches per 90 Alexander-Arnold had in the box in ‘25/‘26. And as the data demonstrates, throughout his career Dumfries has entered the box at a rate more reminiscent of an attacking midfielder or winger than a right back / right wing back. That said, Alexander-Arnold’s passing ability has resulted in creating 89 big scoring chances in the Premier/La Liga + European competition over the last five seasons compared to Dumfries’s 36.
Where Dumfries does have a clear advantage over Trent is winning duels in the air, using his 6’2 muscular frame and jumping ability to win duels at a much greater rate than the Englishman. Dumfries has won 275 aerials duels over the last five seasons in League + Champions League action compared to only 60 aerial wins by Alexander-Arnold. On a team bereft of players with strong aerial game, that skillset will be seen as a significant plus by Mourinho.
Rest assured, both Konate and Dumfries will make the battle for starting spots at both the centre-back and the right-back positions at Madrid much more competitive this coming season.
In Part II next week, we will analyze more closely the signings of Marc Cucurella and Bernardo Silva.