Real Madrid believe they are close to a verbal agreement with Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate | OneFootball

Real Madrid are confident they can sign Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate on a free transfer next summer, according to the Daily Mail.

The 26-year-old Reds star is out of contract at the Anfield club at the end of the season, and the La Liga club are growing in confidence that they can tempt him to join them when he leaves Liverpool.

The same sources that told the Daily Mail last December that Trent Alexander-Arnold would almost certainly join Madrid in the summer are now claiming Los Blancos believe they are close to a verbal agreement with Konate.

Senior club staff at Madrid have openly discussed how confident they are that the Liverpool star will be joining them at the end of the season.

However, Konate has not told the Reds he is leaving and has not yet fully made up his mind on his future.

Talks between both parties over a contract extension have been ongoing since last November, but no agreement has been reached.

Liverpool managed to convince both Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk to renew their deals as they approached the final few months of their last contracts.

They will hope they can succeed in holding on to Konate too, but Madrid will keep putting pressure on his agents to ensure he does not sign a new deal.

He joked during the international break that France international teammate Kylian Mbappe has been regularly calling him to convince him to join Los Blancos.

Some elements of truth could be in his statement and Liverpool would be increasingly worried if nothing has changed by December.

He can sign a pre-contract with suitors in January, and while that is unlikely, the Reds could struggle to convince him to stay given the plethora of options and the financial benefits which come with being a free agent.