‘Final’ Liverpool decision on Ibrahima Konate will be music to Real Madrid ears

Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso and president Florentino Perez will be over the moon to learn Liverpool’s latest stance on keeping Ibrahima Konate at Anfield, according to a report.

Konate is out of contract at Liverpool at the end of the season, and the defending Premier League champions are running out of time to convince the France international central defender to put pen to paper on a new deal. Konate will be able to sign a pre-contract with a foreign club from January 1, with Real Madrid among the clubs keen on him.

Real Madrid have made Konate their number one centre-back target in 2026, according to Marca, the top source for Los Blancos transfer news and has close ties with the club’s hierarchy.

Madrid are in need of signing at least one new centre-back in 2026 – if not in the January transfer window, then certainly next summer.

David Alaba and Antonio Rudiger are out of contract at the end of the season and have had injury concerns as well, while Raul Asencio has not been at his best in the 2025/26 campaign.

Madrid need more competition and back-up to Eder Militao and Dean Huijsen, and in Konate, they will get a hugely experienced 26-year-old who can still get better.

A new report in CaughtOffSide about Konate will be music to the ears of Madrid, with Liverpool said to have given the defender ‘a final ultimatum – sign their latest and final contract offer, or leave in the January transfer window’.

If Konate does not agree to their last offer, then Liverpool ‘are ready to cash in on’ the Frenchman and ‘replace him with Marc Guehi this January’

As of now, Konate has not given any response to the latest offer, which, according to the report, will make him one of the highest earners at Liverpool.

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What are other sources saying about Ibrahima Konate?

It would be remiss to take this report in CaughtOffSide at face value, as there are a few factors that would prohibit Liverpool from selling Konate and signing Guehi in the January transfer window.

Firstly, Konate is unlikely to be willing to leave Liverpool in the middle of the season, knowing that he would get a better deal as a free agent next summer.

It would be in the Frenchman’s best interest to play out his contract and then have the pick of clubs to choose from.

Secondly, Palace may not be keen on selling Guehi in the January transfer window.

True, Palace manager Oliver Glasner has already said that Guehi will not sign a new deal and will leave last season’s FA Cup winners as a free agent next summer, but the Eagles are unlikely to be willing to part company with one of their best players in the middle of the season.

With Barcelona, Inter Milan Bayern Munich among the clubs interested in Guehi, the defender himself is very likely to prefer to wait until next summer.

There have been reports that Guehi has given his word to Liverpool about a move to Anfield in 2026, but, as the defending Premier League champions learned in the summer of 2025, things change very quickly in football.

Guehi had undergone a medical at Liverpool on the final day of the summer transfer window, with a deal with Palace already agreed.

However, Palace made a complete U-turn in the eleventh hour when they failed to convince Igor Julio to make the switch to Selhurst Park as a replacement for Guehi.

Unlike CaughtOffSide, two other reliable sources have given hope to Liverpool about their chances of keeping Konate.

According to French publication L’Equipe, Liverpool are ‘privately confident about the outcome of the discussions’ with Konate over a new contract.

TEAMtalk’s transfer correspondent, Fraser Fletcher, has reported that Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes plans to hand Konate a short extension, with the defender himself open to staying at Anfield if his demands and ambitions are met.

Fletcher said: “Sources reveal the club intends to open talks over a ‘short extension’ – likely 12 to 18 months – to protect his value and buy time for succession planning.

“Sporting director Richard Hughes is keen to avoid a repeat of the Joel Matip scenario, where a key centre-back departed for free. However, sources are pragmatic.”

“Ibou loves Liverpool, but he wants guarantees – minutes, trophies, and a project,” one insider has told TEAMtalk. “If the right deal comes, he’ll listen.”

Latest Real Madrid transfer news: Wirtz plan, Arsenal and Chelsea raids

Meanwhile, Real Madrid have made a decision on how much they will offer Liverpool for Florian Wirtz in the summer of 2026.

Whether Arsenal are planning to raid Real Madrid for Rodrygo in the January transfer window has been revealed by two sources – they are contradictory.

And finally, Chelsea are planning to bid for a Real Madrid star in the January transfer window, despite the star having already made up his mind to move to another club in the middle of the season.