Liverpool get new transfer priority as long-serving star joins Anfield exodus | OneFootball

Reds lose another veteran after Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson already bid club farewell

Ibrahima Konate will leave Liverpool this summer after failing to agree a contract extension with the club.

One of the various distasteful narratives undercutting Liverpool’s turbulent season centred around Konate. The Frenchman’s contract will expire on June 30 and for much of the season it seemed he would not extend.

It then emerged in April that he was closing in on an agreement with the club over a new deal, and Arne Slot himself said there was little more to do than “iron out” minor details.

On the move: Ibrahima Konate is set to leave Liverpool this summer

Getty Images

Konate added in a statement of his own: “Representing this club has been an honour. We have shared incredible moments together… with highs and lows, trophies, challenges, lifelong friendships, and heartbreaking moments that will stay with us forever, none more painful than losing our brother Diogo.

“I am deeply saddened now that I didn’t get the chance to say goodbye to all of you at the last game. At that moment, I didn’t know it would be my final time wearing this shirt in front of you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for everything.

In leaving Anfield, he will follow in the footsteps of club legends in Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson, giving the club yet more to do in the summer transfer market.

Konate made a whopping 51 appearances in all competitions for Liverpool this season despite picking up niggling injuries and struggling for form. The 27-year-old has been with the club since 2021, playing 118 league matches since.

Liverpool’s eye-watering transfer outlay last summer only added one centre-back to the squad, coming in the form of 18-year-old Parma prospect Giovanni Leoni. He was due to act as a backup to Konate and Virgil van Dijk, but ruptured his ACL on debut and spent the entire season on the sidelines.

Should Konate move on, though, Liverpool will be keen to sign at least one read-made elite centre-back, but that will be added to an already lengthy shopping list. He also requires a right-back, in place of Robertson, and an elite winger to replace Salah.

Of course, the club have already signed Rennes centre-back Jeremy Jacquet on a pre-contract agreement, and it remains to be seen how the 20-year-old’s arrival will affect Slot’s transfer planning.

They are also back in the manager market after Slot was sacked on Saturday, with Andoni Iraola reported to be their top choice.