Glen Johnson believes Liverpool takes its time on transfer dealings, and that makes the club's business difficult to predict, but losing one key star was a baffling move
15:45, 17 Jul 2026Updated 15:45, 17 Jul 2026
Glen Johnson during his Liverpool days
Glen Johnson during his Liverpool days(Image: Getty Images)
Glen Johnson has accused Liverpool of greenlighting a "crazy" business deal in allowing Ibrahima Konate to leave the club on a free.
The central defender departed Anfield earlier this summer and was immediately snapped up by Real Madrid on a four-year contract. Konate, 27, spent five years with the Reds but was allowed to walk away and Johnson is adamant his old club will regret the decision, with the Frenchman a valuable player.
Liverpool has brought in Rennes defender Jeremy Jacquet to fill the gap left by the towering international, but Johnson believes the latter will still be a huge miss. And the fact that the club raked in a big fat zero for the former RB Leipzig stopper, the club will likely see it as bad business.
"First of all, a huge miss just as an individual," former right-back Johnson told WhoScored's The State of Play podcast.
"I think it's a crazy business deal to let him walk out for free. But, like I say, they have a certain way of doing business, so I think he'd be hard to replace even if you sold him for £80 million.
"But obviously, a few other players have been mentioned who would have ticked certain boxes or impressed with their stats. So to be fair to Liverpool, they usually get it right more times than they don't.
"I'm sure everyone's replaceable, but I just think he'll be a big miss considering you got no money for him and he was one of your key players."
Johnson is also anticipating a difficult transfer window this summer as Liverpool hopes to land a handful of new signings. Bradley Barcola is a target, while there remains some hope over Yan Diomande despite the winger previously seeming to have picked Paris Saint-Germain.
Bradley Barcola is being linked with Liverpool
Bradley Barcola is being linked with Liverpool(Image: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista, Getty Images)
New signings are all well and good, but Johnson also believes some stars who will return to the fold from injury last season will be like fresh recruits and leave the Reds with a strong squad for new boss Andoni Iraola.
"I think it's a difficult one, because obviously we all know how Liverpool do their business with the transfers, the data, the numbers and certain statistics," he added.
"So it'd be hard to pick one that they would go for. But obviously with the names that have been mentioned, like Barcola - I've been a big fan of him for a long time.
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"To be honest, I think if they can get their players back fit, you're going to have a couple of players back in the game that were not around last season.
"So, I think if they have a good preseason and get everyone fit, it's not a matter of just needing one key signing.
"I think they have a good squad. They just need a good preseason to start well, and I think their squad's good enough to compete."