‘At the moment…’ – Fabrizio Romano drops Ibrahima Konate claim as Real Madrid remain ‘attentive’ | OneFootball

Ibrahima Konate currently finds himself where Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold were this time last year.

The Frenchman is about to enter the final nine months of his contract at Liverpool, with CaughtOffside reporting in recent weeks that there’s been no indication of ‘a positive breakthrough’ in negotiations between player and club.

All the while, Real Madrid lurk in the background, with Lewis Steele recently outlining that the LaLiga giants are growing increasingly confident of signing the defender in 2026, and reports from Spain have claimed that Los Blancos could even attempt a January transfer raid rather than waiting until the summer.

What’s the latest on Konate’s contract situation?

Fabrizio Romano has discussed the latest on Konate’s situation on the Here We Go Podcast, and he reiterated that there doesn’t appear to be any sign of an imminent agreement on a new deal at Liverpool for the 26-year-old.

The Italian transfer guru said: “For sure Real Madrid are very attentive to the situation of Ibrahima Konate… For Konate and Liverpool, at the moment it looks difficult. There is still no agreement, still nothing really close.”

He added: “Konate is out of contract in 2026 so there might be an opportunity, and Real Madrid are attentive, I can confirm that. Then again, it’s still early to make decisions.”

(Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Konate is more important to Liverpool than ever

Having faced criticism over his first couple of performances this season, Liverpool’s number 5 has looked more like his usual rock-solid self in subsequent games, winning 10 out of 13 duels in an excellent showing in the Merseyside derby last weekend (Sofascore).

The Frenchman has also been a hugely influential figure behind the scenes at Anfield – as outlined by James Pearce for The Athletic, he’s ‘gone out of his way’ to help compatriot Hugo Ekitike to settle into life on Merseyside, with the striker duly responding by scoring five times in eight matches.

According to Capology, Konate is currently earning £70,000 per week, which is on the lower end of the pay scale at LFC, particularly for an integral first-team starter.

The 26-year-old would therefore be well within his rights to feel that his wages ought to be more reflective of his importance to Liverpool, which will have increased even further after the horrific news of Giovanni Leoni’s ACL injury this week.

That devastating body blow again leaves the Reds with just three senior centre-backs, a far from ideal situation with so much of the season still to play and four competitions to juggle.

Whatever factor might be preventing the progress of negotiations over a new contract for Konate, we can only hope that it’s resolved on either side sooner rather than later. We don’t need another nail-biting contractual saga casting a shadow over what’s shaping up to be a campaign of huge promise at Anfield.