{"id":144959,"date":"2025-09-09T21:03:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T21:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/144959\/"},"modified":"2025-09-09T21:03:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T21:03:10","slug":"ibrahima-konate-can-have-his-contract-demands-but-liverpool-right-not-to-beg-liverpool-fc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/144959\/","title":{"rendered":"Ibrahima Konate can have his contract demands – but Liverpool right not to beg – Liverpool FC"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ibrahima Konate<\/a> has entered the final year of his contract at Liverpool and a new deal is at an impasse, but the club are right to be pragmatic over the Frenchman\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

With the help of our partners at FotMob<\/a>, we look at Ibrahima Konate<\/a> and how both parties will be presenting their contract stance.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Konate\u2019s uncertain future<\/p>\n

Liverpool\u2019s No. 5 will be a free agent next summer if a new contract is not signed before then, with Real Madrid<\/a> known to be eyeing up the centre-back for another bargain coup.<\/p>\n

The situation is at an impasse but, as per reports<\/a>, the club will \u201cnot beg anyone to remain\u201d as Konate seemingly stalls for a package he deems to better reflect what he offers.<\/p>\n

The club will not break the bank for the Frenchman who, at 26, will know he has a small window for a significant pay rise on a long-term contract.<\/p>\n

Both parties have arguments for their respective stances, and this is what each will be considering in the ongoing contract talks. <\/p>\n

Long history with injuries<\/p>\n

\"LONDON,<\/p>\n

It is no secret that Konate has struggled with injuries throughout his career, with several since joining Liverpool ensuring he only eclipsed 2,000 league minutes in the season just gone.<\/p>\n

The club will have faith in their medical department to maintain an upward trend, but it will factor into their thinking when presenting any financial package to Konate.<\/p>\n

A force in the air<\/p>\n

\"LIVERPOOL,<\/p>\n

One of Konate\u2019s biggest strengths is his ability in the air. He won 70.8 percent of his aerial duels in the Premier League<\/a> last season, ranking him in the top 12 percent of centre-backs.<\/p>\n

For direct comparison, Virgil van Dijk<\/a> won 72.1 percent of his aerial duels, though he contested 119 compared to the Frenchman\u2019s 75.<\/p>\n

He also compares favourably when it comes to percentage of duels won, with Konate winning 66.2% in 2024\/25 and Van Dijk 68.7%. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s no wonder the duo make quite the centre-back pairing.<\/p>\n

Consistency a concern<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

There is no question that the 26-year-old, on his day, is comparable to the best in the game, such is his pace, strength and ability to dominate in the air.<\/p>\n

And it cannot be forgotten the vast spaces he has had to defend with an attacking right full-back by his side, asking him different questions than what Van Dijk is presented with.<\/p>\n

The case Liverpool will be making, though, is that he is not a consistent performer, especially when his captain is not to his left.<\/p>\n

For example, last season he earned a rating of just 5.6-out-of-10 at Fulham<\/a> and two games later recorded 8-out-of-10 at Leicester<\/a>, while this season he is averaging 6.7-out-of-10. <\/p>\n

Van Dijk, conversely, has averaged a rating of 7.4-out-of-10 in the league so far in 2025\/26. <\/p>\n

His concentration wavers, and the mark of an elite player is minimising the gap between one\u2019s best and worst, which cannot always be said of Konate.<\/p>\n

Liverpool are right to be pragmatic<\/p>\n

\"NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE,<\/p>\n

Of course, the ideal scenario is Konate extends his contract at Anfield and plays the prime years of his career with the club \u2013 there can be no disputing his talent. <\/p>\n

He has been a hugely important player, firstly for Jurgen Klopp<\/a> and now Arne Slot<\/a>, but Liverpool will not bend backwards to meet his demands if they deem them beyond his worth and future potential.<\/p>\n

Liverpool have invested at the back with Giovanni Leoni<\/a> and still want to add Marc Guehi to their ranks, and they will be asking if Konate is consistent enough and capable of overcoming injuries to invest heavily in him?<\/p>\n

The club are right to remain pragmatic with their offer, and you get a strong sense he is not in the irreplaceable category like Van Dijk and Mo Salah<\/a> were when in the same position last year. <\/p>\n

His future will not be as distracting, but reaching a conclusion with Konate sooner rather than later will be beneficial for all concerned. <\/p>\n

* FotMob<\/a> is an essential app for every fan to keep up to date with their team or follow football worldwide, with endless stats and features that offer all you could ever want and never knew you needed!<\/p>\n

You can download the FotMob App here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ibrahima Konate has entered the final year of his contract at Liverpool and a new deal is at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":144960,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[1711,403,99],"class_list":["post-144959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-liverpool-fc","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144959"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144959\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}