Football
Exclusive: Liverpool Make Progress on Ibrahima Konaté Contract Talks Despite Bayern Munich Interest
Liverpool are confident they can keep defender Ibrahima Konate amidst Bayern Munich's interest. The Reds are making progress on a new contract as they don't want to lose him for free. Konate, who joined in 2021, has been a key player and negotiations are ongoing despite other clubs monitoring the situation.
Burnley v Liverpool - Premier League by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA | Getty Images
Liverpool are confident they can agree a new contract with sought-after defender Ibrahima Konate, SportsBoom can exclusively reveal.
Konate’s current deal runs out next summer, and the Premier League champions are desperate not to let the French international to leave for free.
German giants Bayern Munich are understood to be interesting in trying to sign the 26-year-old centre-back, especially as his deal runs down at Anfield.
But our sources understand the Reds have been making good progress with a new contract and are hopeful Konate will stay.
Liverpool are thought to have had an initial contract rejected by the player, but their second off is more in liking with the defender’s demands.
Konate joined the Reds in summer of 2021 and has played 141 games for the club across all competitions.
A total of 88 of those games have been in the Premier League, with this season his fifth in the top-flight with the club.
However, the 25-cap international has less than nine months left on his deal and is keen to extend his stay.
ONGOING NEGOTIATIONS
But Bayern are watching negotiations closely, with Manchester United have also been linked with the player.
A move to a Premier League rival seems unrealistic, however, especially United who are desperate for a new centre-half.
Konate revelled for the Reds last season as they won their first Premier League title since the 2019-2020 season.
He was a Champions League runner-up in his first season at Anfield and last year was a beaten EFL Cup finalist.
The former RB Lepizig defender has started all of Liverpool’s Premier League fixtures so far this season, as well as their Champions League games with Atletico Madrid and Galatasaray respectively.
Negotiations are understood to be ongoing between the Reds and Konate who has become a key player for Arne Slot’s side in the past 12 months.
Neil has been a journalist for longer than he'd care to remember, having written for national newspapers and respected publications for over 25 years. For the last three years he has worked freelance for BBC Sport, working on the production desk as a sub-editor and also as a writer, covering a whole range of sports.