Sky Sports reporter drops Konate, Liverpool bombshell with other clubs claim | OneFootball

A Sky Sports reporter has shed light on what happens next for Liverpool and Ibrahima Konate following news Real Madrid steered clear, and the most obvious scenario might not be the one that unfolds.

Konate – out of contract at season’s end – had been courted by Real Madrid throughout much of 2025. Liverpool have put offers to extend on the table, but the belief was Konate was leaning towards rejecting the Reds and joining Real via free agency next summer.

However, The Athletic broke news on Friday of Real Madrid swerving Konate. The club directly informed Liverpool they would not pursue the France international centre-back.

And with Liverpool still pushing in talks with Konate’s camp and his sexiest suitor out of the mix, the expectation is a new deal at Anfield will be penned.

But according to the latest from Sky Sports reporter, Vinny O’Connor, Konate still intends to explore exit opportunities and will listen to offers from foreign clubs in January.

As such, don’t expect Konate to sign any new deal at Anfield for at least a couple of months and until he’s heard what others have to say.

‘Liverpool remain committed to re-signing Ibrahima Konate if terms can be agreed,’ reported O’Connor.

‘Konate’s deal runs out at the end of the season and he is expected to explore his options in January, when he is free to speak to foreign clubs.

‘Real Madrid have been among the teams interested in signing Konate on a free transfer – but there are reports that the interest is subsiding.

‘Liverpool will only agree terms with Konate if they are in keeping with their wage structure and they are also exploring the market for potential replacements.

‘The club’s interest in England and Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi is well established – and he is also into the final six months of his contract in January.

‘Bayern Munich also have an interest in Guehi but re-signing Dayot Upamacano – another top centre-back who is out of contract in June 2026 – is their current priority.’

TEAMtalk expects Konate to extend at Anfield

Our own insider, Dean Jones, has been told that despite Konate potentially exploring other overseas options, the expectation is he WILL sign a new deal on Merseyside.

“The Konate news is very interesting as the player has very much had his head turned by the interest from Madrid,” Jones told TEAMtalk earlier this weekend.

“I think he was really hoping to end up there, but after recent performances, I’m not surprised that deal is no longer being looked at. Sources in Spain say the idea of moving to Madrid had been winning him over – but this is a club that are not afraid to change their plans.

“And Real Madrid have always had other big names they’ve looked at alongside him. To be honest, those players are playing better than Konate is right now.”

Explaining what will happen next and why the defender’s negotiating hand may now have been weakened by Real’s withdrawal from the race, Jones continued: “This is a decision that Madrid are making in good time ahead of 2026 and maybe explains why Liverpool have been seeing more positive signs recently about Konate signing a new contract.

“As I reported the other day, Liverpool had started to see new promise recently that an agreement could be found with Konate.

“They have a limit as to how far they will go to keep him, though, and now that Madrid are pulling away, Konate is not in as powerful of a negotiating situation as he previously seemed.

“There will still be other options for him to explore, but this can’t drag on too long as the fanbase are becoming frustrated with him.”

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In other news, Manchester City are prepared to make an immediate statement on day one of the January transfer window by signing a Liverpool target who can help overhaul Arsenal.