Liverpool get new transfer priority as long-serving star to join Anfield exodus | OneFootball

Reds set to lose another veteran after Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson already bid club farewell

Ibrahima Konate is set to leave Liverpool this summer after failing to agree a contract extension with the club.

One of the various distasteful narratives undercutting Liverpool’s turbulent season centred around Konate. The Frenchman’s contract will expire on June 30 and for much of the season it seemed he would not extend.

It then emerged in April that he was closing in on an agreement with the club over a new deal, and Arne Slot himself said there was little more to do than “iron out” minor details.

New reports emerged from TalkSPORT on Thursday night, however, stating he has failed to reach an agreement with the club and will join the growing queue of players looking to leave Anfield this summer.

On the move: Ibrahima Konate is set to leave Liverpool this summer

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In doing so, he will follow in the footsteps of club legends in Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson, giving Slot yet more to do in the summer transfer market.

Liverpool’s eye-watering transfer outlay last summer only added one centre-back to the squad, coming in the form of 18-year-old Parma prospect Giovanni Leoni. He was due to act as a backup to Konate and Virgil van Dijk, but ruptured his ACL on debut and spent the entire season on the sidelines.

Should Konate move on, though, Slot will be keen to sign at least one read-made elite centre-back, but that will be added to an already lengthy shopping list. He also requires a right-back, in place of Robertson, and an elite winger to replace Salah.

Of course, the club have already singed Rennes centre-back Jeremy Jacquet on a pre-contract agreement, and it remains to be seen how the 20-year-old’s arrival will affect Slot’s transfer planning.

Speaking in mid-April, Slot suggested he hoped Konate would stay to save him having to spend big on a new centre-back this summer.

“At this moment in time I don’t think there’s a chance of other players leaving,” he said. "Of course there’s the Ibou [Ibrahima Konate] contract situation. There might not be such a big need of trading a lot if you don't need to bring new players in."