There had been a belief that Konate, who is nearing the end of his contract, would agree a new deal with the Merseysiders. However, the plug has been pulled on negotiations, with Konate set to leave the club. As such, Express Sport have picked out some options for Liverpool to replace him heading into the new season.
Maybe they’ve already got his replacement lined up? After all, Liverpool put pen to paper on a deal for Jeremy Jacquet in the January transfer window, with the view to him joining in the summer. The youngster is highly rated, but it could be a big ask for him, given he’s got no Premier League experience and will be coming straight into a team hoping to challenge for the title.
One man who does boast Premier League experience and knows exactly what it’s like to win the Premier League is Jarell Quansah. The Englishman left Liverpool last summer for Bayer Leverkusen, and the 20-time champions do boast a release clause in his contract. The bad news is, it’s worth £70million this summer, which could be considered steep given Liverpool only sold him for £35m.
The return of Giovanni Leoni will probably feel like a new signing, given the youngster played just once before suffering a cruciate ligament tear. Having missed the entirety of the campaign, Leoni should be back in time for the new campaign, which should help bolster the six-time European champions’ defensive options.
And finally, despite making up one of the league’s worst defences, Micky van de Ven is still considered one of the best central defenders in the Premier League. After a disastrous season with Tottenham, the Dutchman has been linked to a move away from the north London outfit. With Liverpool set to be a defender down following Konate’s departure, perhaps the Anfield outfit could turn to Van de Ven to plug the gap at the back.