Liverpool: Fresh Konate ‘sticking point’ revealed with agent ‘holding out’ for Real Madrid | OneFootball

A major new ‘sticking point’ has emerged in Liverpool talks to convince Ibrahima Konate to sign a new deal at Anfield, according to reports.

The Reds have had some bad luck at centre-back this season with summer signing Giovanni Leoni suffering a season-ending injury in September.

That injury came hot on the heels of Liverpool missing out on the signing of Marc Guehi after Crystal Palace pulled the plug on a deal while the England international was in the middle of his medical.

Liverpool have relied on Konate and Virgil van Dijk to remain fit and suspension free for much of the season with Joe Gomez their main senior back-up option, while Ryan Gravenberch has also covered that position.

Konate, whose contract expires at the end of the season, has been produced underwhelming performances for much of this season with Jamie Carragher one of his most vocal critics and Liverpool are now struggling to agree new terms.

David Ornstein recently insisted talks had reached “an impasse” while Fabrizio Romano has claimed Konate and Liverpool are haggling over “small details”.

Romano said on his YouTube channel: “Why the new contract is not official yet? How is the status? Let me clarify something. Last week I told you guys that the deal is advancing to the final stages between Ibrahima Konate and Liverpool but it’s not done yet.

“Done means agreed, signed, approved by lawyers on club and player side, and that’s not the case yet. Why advanced? Because the numbers of the contract are almost okay when it’s about the salary.

“So the agreement on those numbers are quite okay. But there are some small details, but still important to clarify between Konate and Liverpool.

“And those details are regarding some clauses into the contract. I’m not talking about release clauses. I’m talking about specific clauses that they are discussing Liverpool and Ibrahima Konate.

“Clauses into the contract can be, for example, the bonuses linked to trophies and these sort of things. So the guaranteed salary is almost okay but there are some clauses to clarify.

“That’s why the new contract is still not green light signed tomorrow. That’s the point. But advancing to important stages in the recent weeks. So let’s wait for the outcome of these details before we know what’s going to happen with Ibrahima Konate.”

And now former Everton CEO Keith Wyness has revealed the latest “sticking point” in talks between Konate and Liverpool with the agent potentially waiting for Real Madrid to make their move.

Wyness told Football Insider: “Konate got himself back into form. He did start to become a very valuable player, but then, he suffered from the whole squad in terms of the way that they’ve underperformed.

“You can’t pin it on him specifically. There’s talk as to whether they’ve actually reached agreement. Apparently the sticking point is now the length of the contract. The agent, I’m sure, is still holding out for other clubs, claiming Real Madrid are still interested.

“He may have other options, but it would be best for him to stay at Liverpool if they can come to this agreement. But, there’s something just not sitting right about how this should have been done and handled. We’ve seen how Arsenal have handled deals quickly and got the contract deals over the line very quickly during the season.

“I don’t know why Liverpool are sticking for this one so long. These negotiations in an atmosphere that Liverpool are in right now, and the way things aren’t going right, makes it a little bit harder. If they really want him, they should have got it done. But, the player might be thinking, do I really want to stay here again?

“The longer it goes on, I’m surprised that they’re not resolving it. It just shows that people aren’t 100% sure on either side that this is what they want. That’s what would worry me if I was chief executive.”