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Barcelona have held preliminary talks to sign Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate, according to Sempre Barca. The French defender has entered the final year of his contract with the Reds, adding to speculation regarding his future.
Konate is highly rated at Anfield, and the Merseyside club remain keen to extend his stay, especially since Virgil van Dijk is already in the twilight of his career. However, Liverpool are yet to find success with their efforts, with the 26-year-old showing little inclination to sign an extension.
The situation has alerted his suitors across the continent, and Real Madrid are apparently planning to sign him for free next summer. It has also been suggested that Los Blancos could accelerate their plans and sign him this year should he become available in the coming days.
Interestingly, Barcelona have now entered the fray and have already established contact with Konate's entourage. The Catalans are in the market for a new defender following Inigo Martinez's move to Al-Nassr this month.
However, the Spanish champions are under financial distress and a move is almost impossible this summer. Instead, Barcelona are considering the free-agent market and Konate has popped up on their radar.
The Catalans could make a move for the Frenchman next summer if he runs out his contract with Liverpool and is available for free. The report adds that Konate is open to a move to Camp Nou as well.
Are Liverpool eyeing Barcelona's Ronald Araujo?
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Ronald Araujo
Liverpool have identified Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo as an alternative to Marc Guehi, according to Fichajes. The Reds are keen to bolster their backline this summer, and have apparently set their sights on the English defender.
Guehi has been very impressive for Crystal Palace in recent times, and has entered the final 12 months of his contract. The Merseyside club are ready to take him to Anfield, but the Eagles will only let him go for a colossal fee.
The situation has forced Liverpool to consider their options, and they have turned to Araujo. The Uruguayan defender signed a new contract with the LaLiga champions in January this year, but his future remains unclear.
The Reds are convinced that Araujo can be a good fit to Arne Slot's plans, and are apparently preparing a €60m offer to convince the Catalans to let him go. However, Barcelona may not be too keen to let the 26-year-old leave following Inigo Martinez's departure this month.
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Deepungsu Pandit
Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over seven years at Sportskeeda. He has written more than 9500 articles for the website, and has garnered close to 21 million reads.
Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.
Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.
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