Liverpool take Joe Gomez transfer decision after Ibrahima Konate contract failure | OneFootball

The 27-year-old has been with the club since 2021 - signing for £35m from RB Leipzig. The France international’s contract is due to expire in June 2026 - and it was revealed earlier this week that he would be walking out the door for nothing.

Despite being in talks with the club since November 2023 no agreement could be found between Konate’s entourage and Richard Hughes.

Konate therefore becomes one of the hottest free agents on the market - and the outgoing Premier League champions are counting the cost.

Leoni and Jacquet to come into the frame

While there is an option for Hughes to enter the transfer market for a senior defender more likely is that Liverpool source internal solutions.

The Merseysiders retain faith in Giovanni Leoni and Jeremy Jacquet - two of the most promising defenders in Europe.

Leoni signed from Parma for £26m last summer - and is expected to return to preseason training following an ACL injury.

Jacquet has been a long-term injury absentee too - damaging a shoulder only one week after his transfer from Rennes was confirmed.

It would be a big ask for either of those two to feature all season long beside Van Dijk - given their fragile fitness state and relative inexperience at the top level.

Joe Gomez to be retained

Liverpool could do with a senior partner for Van Dijk - and it now appears as though Joe Gomez will get another opportunity to stake a claim for a starting place.

Gomez, 29, has been extensively linked with a move away - with clubs like Crystal Palace, Newcastle, Aston Villa and AC Milan all thought to be keen.

Like Van Dijk the England international is out of contract in 2027. And if Hughes had any wish to make some money back on the versatile defender then he would have no choice but to cash in this summer.

However according to a report from James Pearce in the Athletic it looks as though Liverpool are content for Gomez’s contract to run down.

“Joe Gomez, the club’s longest-serving player, is likely to stay for the final year of his contract," he writes.

This means that Arne Slot’s successor as head coach - likely to be Andoni Iraola - can plan with some degree of certainty for next season at the heart of defence.

Gomez is a safe pair of hands and can fill in at right-back too where Conor Bradley remains sidelined.