Liverpool try one final time to lock down Konate as Jamie Carragher makes monumental transfer prediction | OneFootball

Liverpool are reportedly preparing to meet with Ibrahima Konate’s representative this week in what could prove to be their final push to tie the defender down to a new contract, though major hints from both Jamie Carragher and Fabrizio Romano suggest the Reds may have a bigger and bolder replacement in mind.

The France international is in the fifth and final year of his contract at Anfield, having joined in a £36m (€42.5m) move from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2021. While his form has taken a significant nosedive this year, Konate has established himself as a regular for his country and played a leading role in Liverpool’s trophy success in recent seasons.

Efforts to extend his stay on Merseyside, though, have, so far, failed to bear fruit. Talks over an extension were first held in the autumn of 2024 and despite initial promise, they are still no closer to a breakthrough some 16 months later.

As we revealed on January 19 in an exclusive update, FSG and Konate’s camp still remain some distance apart over a new deal.

Now, a respected team of five elite reporters on X has revealed that Liverpool transfer chiefs plan to meet Konate’s representatives once again on Friday of this week in what could prove their final attempt to nail him down to an extension.

Failure to do so will likely see the player depart Anfield as a free agent at the season’s end.

The Reds have never shied away from their desire to keep Konate’s services and will not be held to ransom and his apparent wish to secure a deal worth around £250,000 a week-plus does not sit right with FSG.

In light of that, Carragher reckons Liverpool are likely now to move away from Konate next season and he reckons the capture of Jeremy Jacquet, signed in a £60m deal from Rennes on deadline day, though the move is delayed until the summer, signals a big shift in their intent.

“When you look at stylistically what Jeremy Jacquet is, it tells me Ibrahima Konate is not signing,” Carragher told Sky Sports.

Insisting he expects Liverpool to sign ANOTHER centre-half this summer, he added: “I think Liverpool are going to go and buy a proper centre-back in the summer, who I would imagine will play alongside Virgil van Dijk, and then you’ve got two really good young centre-backs.”

On the evolving look of Liverpool’s defensive line, Carragher continued: “They still need to play, but one of them – Giovanni Leoni – is coming back after an ACL, so it is not going to be an easy season for him next season.

“Van Dijk is going to be on the back of a World Cup, and he’s going to be 12 months older.

“So, if Konate doesn’t sign, they sign another player to replace Konate — a top-of-the-range centre-back to play right now — and you’ve got these two as back-up. I still think they’ll get plenty of games.”

Carragher believes Liverpool were forced to revisit their strategy and change direction for Jacquet once it became clear that primary target, Marc Guehi, would move to Manchester City instead.

We also previously reported how his wages – some £300,000 a week at the Etihad – proved way beyond what the Reds were prepared to spend.

The pundit continued: “The situation with Guehi changed, for me. In the summer, Guehi was being brought in to provide competition for Konate – not necessarily take his place right away.

“It’s got to the stage with Konate this season where if you’re buying someone, it is to replace him now. Maybe he is not going to sign, and maybe he is not the same player.

“I look at Guehi and I worry about his height. The make-up of the Liverpool team — Wirtz, Mac Allister, Kerkez, Frimpong — and then you bring in a centre-back who is not the biggest… for me, Liverpool had to go and buy a giant.

“Jacquet definitely is that. The one they bring in during the summer, I hope, also has that.”

Fabrizio Romano has also suggested that the signing of Jacquet shows Liverpool are ready to move away from Konate, indicating that Jacquet – at €72m – has not moved to Merseyside to sit on the bench.

“He’s going to be an important member of the side; he’s not going to be a squad player. Liverpool believe he is going to be a really important player in terms of minutes, place for next season, and the player was really tempted by that,” Romano explained, before going on to reveal exactly why the defender chose Anfield over Stamford Bridge.

Liverpool latest: HUGE Salah bid coming; Sunderland Beast eyed

One man the Reds won’t be signing is Dayot Upamecano after Romano revealed the decision that the Frenchman has now made on his future at Bayern Munich.

Meanwhile, Liverpool have been warned to prepare themselves for the departure of Mohamed Salah in a matter of weeks after reports named the Saudi side now very firmly ready to press the button on a giant offer to FSG, while recent comments from David Ornstein have suggested the end could be in sight.

Finally, the Reds have been linked with a stunning £50million move for a top Sunderland performer, with a move reportedly in the pipeline amid claims another trusted and long-serving Liverpool star could be on the move.