Liverpool have been in sensational form this season in the Premier League but their recent losses in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League and the EFL Cup final will force the squad to make some significant changes in the summer transfer window. Arne Slot would want to compete for all trophies in the next season given the stature of the club that the Reds are. However, there are expected to be some significant departures in the summer as well.
Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Mohamed Salah have been the three pillars for Liverpool. The trio’s contract ends this summer and the Reds are definitely concerned about that. The club have been trying to renew the contracts of all three players and are in discussions with their entourages. The 33-year-old Dutch centre-back has been a cornerstone in the backline and Liverpool want to keep him at the club.
Liverpool might sell Ibrahima Konate if Virgil van Dijk renews
Former Manchester United and Blackburn chief scout Mick Brown has claimed that the Reds would be open to listening to an offer for Ibrahima Konate if they managed to renew the contract of Van Dijk. The Reds are not sure of the long-term future of Konate and want to sell him for a profit in the summer with one year remaining in his contract.
However, if Van Dijk leaves, Liverpool will need to look for his replacements. They have to then keep Konate to partner with their new centre-back. The club are giving their all to renew the Dutchman’s contract but he has still not agreed terms with the club over a new contract. Concerns are growing within the club that their captain might be ready to leave for free in the summer.
“Let’s imagine they don’t have a problem with Van Dijk. I think they look at Konate and say ‘yeah he’s not bad, he’s done alright, but he’s got a mistake in him. So if they can better than in the transfer window, then they will do. *But they have got a problem with Van Dijk, and with Trent Alexander-Arnold, so they don’t want to lose another centre-back in the middle of all of that.*”
“The captain’s position is fundamental to what happens with Konate. If he leaves the club, Konate will stay alongside a new signing because they need that stability. If he stays, I think they’ll look to move Konate on and replace him with a new signing because of those doubts I explained before that they have. In an ideal world, they keep Van Dijk and Konate moves on, but the situation is more complicated. They still want Van Djik to sign, of course, but at the moment it’s unclear and that leaves Konate’s position uncertain as well.”
Mick Brown said to Football Insider.
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Ibrahima Konate has conceded 15 goals and kept 10 clean sheets in 23 matches in the Premier League 2024/2025 season. That means when Konate is on the pitch, his team concedes a goal every 126 minutes. The centre-back has also amassed a G/A of 3. Liverpool’s French powerhouse is a defender who has brute strength with sharp intelligence.
The 25-year-old is a colossus in the air, winning duels with ease, while his pace and anticipation shut down attacks before they ignite. Konate’s passing is crisp and confident and it helps Liverpool build from the back, echoing Virgil van Dijk’s style. Since joining from RB Leipzig in 2021 for £36m, Konate’s been a rock, stepping up amid injury crises. He scored his first Premier League goal in 2024 against Wolves and has formed a brick-wall partnership with Van Dijk.
Is the decision correct?
For a Liverpool fan, it should be nerve-wracking hearing Mick Brown say they would consider offers for Ibrahima Konate if Van Dijk signs a new deal. The club would be desperate to keep Virgil, Trent, and Mo, but with Konate’s contract ticking down to 2026, they are weighing a summer sale for profit. Van Dijk has been their rock, and if he stays, cashing in on Konate makes sense. But if Virgil walks, they are stuck, needing Konate to anchor the backline. It’s a gamble—losing both would gut them.