Insider shares Liverpool verdict on new Konate deal as true reason why Real Madrid aborted deal emerges | OneFootball

Liverpool remain absolutely committed to handing Ibrahima Konate a new deal at Anfield despite his woeful form of late and amid some very strongly worded criticism from Anfield faithful towards the Frenchman and a Reds teammate.

Konate has been strongly linked with a free transfer move to Real Madrid for the best part of a year now with his contract at Anfield due to expire in summer 2026. And with negotiations yet to see an agreement reached, Liverpool were fearful for several weeks that they would lose a second defensive star in successive summers to the Spanish giants.

But as rumours of a move to the Bernabeu heated up, Konate’s form took a nosedive. And with the player dropping a long way off his consistent best, the trusted journalist David Ornstein shared the news last week that Real Madrid are no longer keen on a deal and will instead pursue other targets.

With Los Blancos seemingly out of the picture, our correspondent Dean Jones revealed last week how Liverpool now had a newfound confidence that a contract extension for Konate was now a matter of when not if.

However, some increasingly dubious performances by the player of late have left some fans wondering if the Reds would be better off moving away from the Frenchman and letting him walk away as a free agent after all.

Despite that, the Daily Mail’s Liverpool expert, Lews Steele, is adamant that retaining Konate is a big priority at Anfield.

Per Steele, the Reds view Konate not only through the lens of recent displays, but through the broader picture of a defender who played a key role in last season’s title triumph under Arne Slot. The idea of judging a player solely on a short dip is rejected internally.

And as Steele highlights in his Daily Mail column, ‘Liverpool will not write off their defender on the back of his recent drop in form’, and with one senior figure suggesting that they fully expect the star to soon recover his best form.

From Konate’s perspective, there still remains a gap between the parties, though the Reds do now feel that ‘Konate’s hand has been weakened by a string of poor performances in recent weeks’, while the absence of Real Madrid interest further plays into Liverpool’s hands.

As for the reasons behind Real’s U-turn on a deal, Steele confirms they are instead looking at other options, though at the same time, Xabi Alonso is content and ‘comfortable with Dean Huijsen and Eder Militao as his defensive duo’.

Liverpool fans fuming at Konate’s displays

Despite that, there is a growing portion of Liverpool fans who have questioned Konate’s performances and asked whether his inconsistent performances justify the significant salary increase he is seeking.

Expressing their concerns after the lethargic 1-1 draw against Sunderland at Anfield on Wednesday night, supporters took to X to express their frustrations with the player – and his teammate, Joe Gomez.

“Not sure what planet Ibou Konate is on this season, but it certainly isn’t Earth, all over the place yet again,” one fan wrote on the social media platform.

Another added: “I can’t believe some of the things Konate is doing out there.”

Irish businessman, Liverpool fan and Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony also described the player as “Bambi on ice” during an interview with Sky Sports and having also expressed concern at his form.

He wasn’t the only Liverpool defender who was torn apart on social media, though, with fans also irate by the performance of Joe Gomez as a stand-in right-back.

“Joe Gomez is the worst player I’ve ever seen for Liverpool, he’s terrible. I’m embarrassed to watch him play for us. Closely followed by Konate,” one fan posted.

Another fumed: “Get Joe Gomez and Konate off the squad.”

A third joked: “I’d rather have Salah play right-back than Joe Gomez.”

Meanwhile, Reds supporters have also vociferously turned on Slot following the draw with the Wearsiders at Anfield.

Off the back of that disappointing draw, an increasing number are now demanding the sack, having picked out four ‘horrible’ signs in the game, while an extremely worrying admission from the manager shows how far the Reds have fallen.

On the transfer front, sources can reveal Barcelona have made two formal approaches to Marc Guehi’s representatives in the past fortnight, intensifying their efforts to lure the Crystal Palace captain to the Camp Nou and land a brutal transfer blow to Liverpool.