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 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 claimed Trent Alexander-Arnold would almost certainly join Madrid in the summer are now saying Konate will sign for Madrid.

However, Konate has not told the Reds he is leaving and has not yet decided about his future.

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

Liverpool convinced Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk to renew their contracts as they approached the final few months of their previous deals.

They will hope to hold onto Konate, but Madrid will continue to press his agents to ensure he does not sign a new deal.

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

Konate can sign a pre-contract with Madrid in January, and the Reds could struggle to convince him to stay given the financial benefits which come with being a free agent.