Konaté Departure Leaves More Work For Liverpool This Summer | OneFootball

Ibrahima Konaté hasn’t been the perfect defender for Liverpool, but he’s been a bloody good one. He arrived from RB Leipzig in 2021, with the Reds having shelled out £35 million to secure his signature. Having made 183 appearances for the Anfield side, rumours were that he was close to agreeing a new deal before that ground to halt over a disagreement around the wages he was reportedly asking for.

It means that Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards have even more work to do this summer in order to ensure that the Reds can compete at the highest level, given the paucity of the squad as we head into the new campaign.

A Top Class Performer

No one has been bandying words like ‘legend’ around when it comes to Ibrahima Konaté’s departure in the same way that they were when Mo Salah confirmed that he would be leaving Liverpool at the end of the 2025-2026 Premier League season. That is because of the fact that the Frenchman had a good number of wobbly performances in his locker, just as he did some brilliant ones. That being said, he was always a strong presence in the backline and knew what it took to keep clean sheets, even if we didn’t see it as often as we’d all have liked last season. He wasn’t a leader like Virgil van Dijk, but was an admirable soldier.

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His words confirming the fact that he’d be moving on were full of class, thanking supporters for getting behind him every time he took to the pitch wearing the Red shirt. He said that he was ‘deeply saddened’ that he didn’t get to say goodbye in the last game of the season, not knowing that it would be his ‘final time wearing this shirt in front of you’. Whoever he signs for next, they will be getting a defender that learnt how to perform on one of the most heavily scrutinised pitches in world football, as well as someone who won the Premier League, FA Cup and two League Cups during his time at Anfield, for which we’ll be forever grateful.

How Our Defence Looks Now

The departures of Konaté and Andy Robertson, as well as the confirmation that Conor Bradley’s injury is worse than first thought, mean that Liverpool’s defence is looking a little thin on the ground right now. Milos Kerkez settled into his role towards the end of the season, whilst few will be fired up by the idea of Kostas Tsimikas returning from his loan move. Jeremie Frimpong looked like an attacker when he defended and a defender when he attacked, whilst Arne Slot never gave Calvin Ramsey a shot. The numbers just aren’t there in that part of the squad to feel confident. It is centre-back where the biggest gaps are to be found, though.

Yes, Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez will still be there, but one of them is very much in the twilight of his career and the other simply can’t be relied upon to stay fit for long enough to be a serious contender at the back. Giovanni Leoni looked really impressive during his appearance in the League Cup game against Southampton, but he went off with a bad injury and there is no way of knowing where or not he’ll be the same player when he comes back, which doesn’t even account for his age. Jeremy Jacquet will be arriving in the summer after we spent £60 million on him, but the 20-year-old is entirely untested in the Premier League.

It is not an ideal situation.