Liverpool make ‘very generous’ but ‘final’ Konate offer as source drops Real Madrid bombshell | OneFootball

Liverpool hope to receive some positive news ‘in the coming weeks’ over Ibrahima Konate’s future amid claims the Reds have submitted their final and a very generous contract proposal to him and with an insider revealing exactly how the player feels about a move to Real Madrid.

The France defender is in the final year of the five-year contract Liverpool tied him down to when signing him in a £36m (€40m, $45m) deal from RB Leipzig in summer 2021. In his time at Anfield, Konate has not just established himself as a regular for club and country, but, alongside Virgil van Dijk, has come to be regarded as one of the most trusted defenders in the world game.

And while his performances have become inconsistent this season – brilliant one week and mediocre the next – Liverpool have made no secret of their desire to tie the 26-year-old down to a new and improved contract at Anfield.

Currently earning a modest £70,000 a week, Konate is one of the poorest-paid members of Arne Slot’s first-team squad – and understandably wants a deal that reflects his status in the game.

Talks on that extension have now been ongoing for over a year and, with nothing yet agreed, speculation over a free-transfer exit to Real Madrid has gathered serious pace over recent months.

Now, according to Sky Sports reporter Sacha Tavolieri, Liverpool have put their ‘final offer’ on the table to Konate’s representatives, presenting to him what has been described as a ‘very generous offer’.

With the 26-times capped France international now deliberating over whether to sign or not, the truths about those links to Real Madrid have now been shared by the reporter.

And he says that Konate has ‘always wanted’ to play for Los Blancos and saw his dwindling contract situation at Anfield as the perfect opportunity to turn that dream into a reality.

However, Real Madrid are yet to make any sort of concrete move, and the player now must decide to risk it all on the Spanish giants coming to the table, or commit to a new and improved deal at Anfield, which will effectively kill those links for now….

Despite those claims from Tavolieri, Konate spoke out over the weekend to insist he is not yet in receipt of an offer from the Reds but was keen to stress that talks between his representatives and the club were ongoing.

The player also indicated that perennial links with the Spanish giants were not helpful to his cause and particularly in light of some below-par performances from the player in recent months that have perhaps indicated the player is not of the level required to succeed at the Bernabeu.

“As for me, I’ve seen a lot of things, particularly in the media. I saw that Liverpool made me a new offer recently,” he said, while on duty with the France squad this weekend.

“I don’t know where that info comes from. But now, my agents are still discussing with Liverpool. I hope my decision will be made and that I’ll be able to announce what I’ll do very soon.”

The situation around the player is certainly a pertinent one for the Reds. With Real Madrid able to sign Konate on a pre-contract agreement – just 45 days from now – fears will be growing that Liverpool could lose a top defender to the Spanish giants on a free transfer for the second successive summer.

Despite that, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has spoken out on the Frenchman’s future to reveal that the Merseyside giants remain his priority.

“Talks between Konate and Liverpool are still ongoing. Let’s see,” Romano stated.

Liverpool latest: Semenyo truths; Isak fitness fears; ‘next Pedri’ wanted

Meanwhile, reports that Liverpool are increasingly tempted to move for Antoine Semenyo in January and have ‘extra motivation’ to sign the player off Ghana’s failure to qualify for the African Cup of Nations have been given a serious reality check by three sources.

Elsewhere on the transfer front, Liverpool are reported to be getting ‘serious’ about a move for a Dutch star branded the ‘next Pedri’ amid claims Slot has approved a ‘mega transfer’.

Finally, the Reds are now, sadly, facing up to the reality that British record signing Alexander Isak will not be able to showcase his very best for the club until next year after the striker opened up on his frustrating start to life at Anfield and Graham Potter dropped a fitness update.