Fabrizio Romano drops bombshell contract news directly impacting Liverpool | OneFootball

Ibrahima Konate has come under fire this season for some mixed performances at Liverpool.

The French international attracted a lot of criticism, in particular, for his display in a 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

Some fans have suggested that ongoing links to La Liga giants Real Madrid may be at least partly inspiring such inconsistency.

Unfortunately, with fellow target William Saliba having just signed a new contract, the Konate transfer rumours are only going to intensify from here on out.

Fabrizio Romano confirms new William Saliba deal at Arsenal

(Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

Fabrizio Romano reported on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday morning that the Arsenal centre-back had put pen to paper on a contract extension.

The new deal with the Gunners will see the Frenchman extend his stay at the Emirates until the summer of 2030. Not to mention ward off reported interest from Real Madrid (BBC Sport).

Very good news for Mikel Arteta’s Premier League hopefuls. But for Liverpool? This update won’t be a comforting one for the Reds amid ongoing contract negotiations with Ibrahima Konate.

When was Saliba’s previous contract set to expire?

William Saliba’s prior contract was set to expire in the summer of 2027.

With a year left on that deal, come the next summer transfer window, Real Madrid would have been in an advantageous position.

Los Blancos could either have looked to secure the centre-back for a cut-price fee or position themselves to capture the footballer for free in a year’s time.

Real Madrid will focus on Ibrahima Konate amid contract struggle

That’s another top-quality centre-back cleanly off the transfer market – unless Real Madrid are prepared to dig deep into their wallet to make a deal happen.

The far more likely bet is that Los Blancos will continue a policy that has served them quite well in recent years – taking advantage of the free transfer market.

Liverpool themselves have suffered greatly at the hands of Madrid’s patient poaching tactics. Generational right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold was secured for a pittance (€10m early exit fee) ahead of his contract expiring in June this year.

Now, with David Alaba and Antonio Rudiger apparently set to be let go when their contracts expire in 2026.

Presuming Xabi Alonso’s outfit wants two men coming in through the doors in the summer to replace them, we can safely assume the likes of Konate and Bayern’s Dayot Upamecano will be high up on the list.

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