Liverpool ‘to hold final talks’ for ‘breakthrough’ as endgame nears for £36m star

Liverpool will hold one final round of talks to convince Ibrahima Konate to extend his stay at Anfield, according to a report, as the Spanish press makes a massive claim about the defender and Real Madrid.

Konate is out of contract at Liverpool at the end of the season, with Madrid keen on a deal for the France international centre-back. The Premier League champions have been trying for months to convince Konate to sign a new contract, but no new deal is in place at the moment.

The Daily Mail has reported that Liverpool have made a decision not to sell Konate this summer, even though they could sign two new defenders in the coming weeks.

While Liverpool have agreed a deal to sign Giovanni Leoni from Parma, the Reds are in talks with Crystal Palace over bringing Marc Guehi to Anfield.

With Jarell Quansah leaving for Bayer Leverkusen earlier this summer, Liverpool needed to sign a new centre-back, but bringing in two players suggest that the Reds are planning for life without Konate.

According to Empire of the Kop, Liverpool are ‘set to hold ‘final talks’ with Konate’ over his future.

Liverpool owners, Fenway Sports Group (FSG), are involved and will hold ‘final talks’ to see if they can reach ‘a breakthrough in negotiations’.

FSG are said to be ‘willing to offer’ a ‘significant pay rise’ to Konate, who has been on the books of Liverpool since the summer of 2021 when he joined from RB Leipzig for £36million (€42m, $49m).

Konate has made a total of 133 appearances for Liverpool so far in his career, scoring five goals and giving four assists in the process.

The 26-year-old centre-back has won the Premier League and the FA Cup once each and the EFL Cup twice with Liverpool.

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What Ibrahima Konate has told Real Madrid – report

While Liverpool have not given up on keeping the defender at Anfield for the long term, the Spanish press continues to insist that Konate will move to Madrid.

According to AS, Konate has ‘already given his approval to Real Madrid’, whether be it a move this summer or next.

The France international centre-back ‘wants’ to join Madrid and is ready to switch to the Santiago Bernabeu if the two clubs can thrash out a deal.

If not, then Konate is willing to wait until next summer to join Madrid as a free agent.

According to Marca, summer signing Franco Mastantuono will be part of Real Madrid Castilla for the time being, so that there is a place free in the first-team squad.

This is being done potentially so that Madrid will not have to release any players from the first-team squad should they sign Konate before the summer transfer window closes.

Barcelona have also been linked with Konate, with Sempre Barca claiming that the defender is open to a move to the Spanish champions after they ‘held preliminary talks’ with his entourage.

The English media, though, remain adamant that Liverpool will not sell Konate this summer and are still hopeful that he will sign a new deal.

Journalist David Lynch said on Sports Mole’s YouTube channel: “Real Madrid are clearly interested aren’t they – there is no question about that!

“But speaking to people close to Konate, I still get the feeling that his priority is to renew with Liverpool and there are talks there, but it is kind of stuck at the moment.

“I don’t think it has reached the point of no return and the player has definitely decided he wants to go to Real Madrid, I don’t get that feeling at all.

“That’s not to say that it won’t end in that way because that possibility is 100 per cent on the table, but we are still in the moment where there is hope there will be a breakthrough.”

Trusted journalist Fabrizio Romano has previously said on his YouTube channel: “I can tell you guys that they [Liverpool] are still not opening the doors for this summer for Ibrahima Konate to go to Real Madrid.

“What I can tell you is that Real Madrid really like the player, he’s really appreciated internally, he’s also been discussed internally with staff and management, but at the moment there is no bid to Liverpool because they are not opening the doors to an exit for Konate this summer.

“In case they decide to open the door let’s see what Real Madrid will do. But Liverpool still hope to try and reach an agreement with Konate in the next months.”

Romano added: “They were close around October, November, then the story changed with Konate and his agents.

“It has always been a strange negotiation with ups and downs. Now Liverpool are still hoping to convince Konate to stay, but Real Madrid are following the situation closely.

“The player is not desperate to get out of Liverpool or desperate to go to Real Madrid, it’s not that kind of situation just yet, but they will have to put a contract on the table that is attractive to the player and, as of yet, that hasn’t happened.”

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