Liverpool have been one of the most active clubs this transfer window with numerous high-profile incomings and outgoings. Arne Slot is using the momentum from his first Premier League trophy to build a formidable side.
Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Hugo Ekitike are some of the biggest names to have arrived at Anfield this summer. All three of them have found recent success in the Bundesliga and this is a league where recent recruitment from has paid off for Liverpool, with the likes of Dominic Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch.
They’ve funded these big moves through a combination of on-field success, low spending in previous seasons and by letting go of some big-name players. Luis Diaz and Jarell Quansah have already left for Germany and now Darwin Nunez is set to move to Saudi Arabia and become the latest high-profile departure, while Harvey Elliott may not be far behind.
While most of Slot’s reign has gone the way Liverpool had hoped, they could be on the verge of losing a player they want to keep and one who is integral to the team.
Pérez targets Konate signing
According to reports in Spain, Real Madrid’s President, Florentino Pérez, has identified Ibrahima Konate as a key Real Madrid target next summer, when he is available as a free agent.
This is a strategy that Madrid have enacted in the past, as this summer they secured the signing of Trent Alexander-Arnold on a free after his Liverpool contract expired. Pérez’s hope will be to reunite the pair under the new Madrid manager, Xabi Alonso, so that they may rekindle their defensive connection.
Konate’s current contract sees him earn £70,000 a week, which is less than a third of what his defensive partner Virgil Van Dijk earns. Liverpool’s Director of Football, Richard Hughes, has attempted to rectify this wage disparity and has reportedly offered a new contract that Konate turned down. A report from The Times indicated that the defender wants around £200,000 a week.
Whilst there still seems to be some distance between the two parties’ preferred wages, French journalist Abdellah Boulma has indicated that talks are still ongoing with both Hughes and Konate open to working out a deal.
Konate's significance to Liverpool
There’s a reason both Real Madrid and Liverpool desperately want Konate in their squad for the start of the 2026 campaign – his presence on the pitch has a clear impact on results and defensive form.
Games Played
31
7
Wins
21
4
Draws
7
2
Losses
3
1
Win %
67.7%
57.1%
Avg. Goals Conceded per game
1.47
1.71
Statistics from statmuse
Indeed, Liverpool win 10.6% more games when Konate features, over a 38-game season that will result in between an extra 8 and 12 points. The second major stat is that they conceed 0.24 fewer goals a game when Konate plays, 9.12 goals over a full Premier League season.
Based on their business in the last few windows and their on-field success, Liverpool clearly have more money to spend in order to bring in a Konate replacement if he did leave next summer. However, the difficulty that the club faces is in actually finding a player of high enough quality to replace him.