Journalist explains possible reason for Konate contract delay as he laments ‘bizarre’ situation | OneFootball

Lewis Steele has offered a suggestion as to why the contract situation of Ibrahima Konate has yet to be resolved with only a month remaining on his current deal.

As it stands, the Frenchman will become a free agent five weeks from today, despite him telling reporters in mid-April that he and Liverpool were ‘close to an agreement’.

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However, with the end of May rapidly approaching, we’re still none the wiser as to whether or not the 27-year-old will be a Reds player next season.

Steele issues Konate contract prediction

Speaking on the latest Media Matters podcast for Anfield Index, Steele voiced his confidence that Konate will eventually pen a contract extension on Merseyside, and his frustration as to why such renewals seem interminably long at Liverpool compared to other clubs.

The Daily Mail reporter said: “As far as I understand it, Konate wants to stay and Liverpool want him to stay…As we sit here today, I do still think that he will end up staying.”

(Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

When asked why it might be taking so long for an agreement to be reached, the journalist answered: “There’s just a few final details that have provided a little bit of a stumbling block maybe”, adding that those finer points “just need to be ironed out…but how long does that take?

“I don’t understand why all of these contract renewals take 100 times longer for Liverpool than they seem to do for any other club…bizarre.”

Steele also raised the worrying scenario of Konate’s France teammates trying to entice him to their clubs and telling him to ‘forget about that deal that’s taking too long’.

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Why have Liverpool left it so late to resolve Konate’s future?

Liverpool have previous when it comes to taking their sweet time with contract renewals – it wasn’t until April of last year that they confirmed new deals for Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk, with two of the club’s most important players being less than three months away from departing on free transfers.

We get that contract negotiations are anything but straightforward and that footballers won’t want to commit for the long-term until they’re happy with every last detail, but surely Konate’s situation could’ve been addressed long before now.

The seemingly neverending saga over the Frenchman’s future isn’t a great portent for the next 12 months – as it stands, there are nine first-team players about to enter the final year of their current deals, including Van Dijk, Alisson Becker and Curtis Jones.

That’s a lot of back-and-forth for sporting director Richard Hughes to get stuck into in the coming months, outside of what’ll be a pivotal summer transfer window as Liverpool seek to right the wrongs of a miserable 2025/26 season.

We can only hope that Steele’s predictions of a renewal for Konate turn out to be well-founded. One way or another, we’re approaching a definitive answer as to whether or not the Frenchman will continue to wear the number 5 shirt at Anfield next term.