Liverpool lost Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid in the form of CNTD this summer. And the Anfield team is facing a similar scenario when Ibrahima Konate hesitated to sign a new contract.
From “trent-gate” to the problem of konate
Liverpool could not hide the regret when the shirt ended. Fans regret, the Board of Directors regretted, and the legends that used to stand with him. But after all, the question must be posed: Why is it all that?
And now, another name is making the responsible people in Anfield starting to feel cold: Ibrahima Konate. The French center -back only binds the contract until June 2026, and has not shown signs of continued long -term attachment.
If Liverpool did not act from this summer, they will enter the 2025/26 season with a player with a contract of only 12 months. At that time, Konate could do the same thing as Trent: quietly waiting until becoming a free player. It should be emphasized, it is not only human loss, but also a failure in human resource strategy.
No one doubts the quality of Ibrahima Konate. Maybe he is not a flashy center -back like Van Dijk at the peak, but gives Liverpool defense the balance between muscles and speed, between calmness and fighting. From the date of arrival at Anfield in 2021 for £ 36 million, the center -back in 1999 has always been in the long -term plan of the Merseyside team.
But one thing is worrying: Konate has never made a long -term commitment to Liverpool. Every time he was asked, he often answered, or dodged with a smile. Meanwhile, invitations from PSG, Juventus or Bayern kept whispering in his ears.
It would be very naive to think that a high -class player like Konate did not waver to see colleagues in other teams receiving higher salaries. And if Liverpool still keeps the attitude of “waiting for the active player”, as they used to work with Trent, the risk of repeating disaster is completely real.
Arne Slot needs clarity
The new coach Arne Slot is not the one who creates this trouble. But he is definitely the one who will have to solve. In the context of Van Dijk was 33 years old, Quansah left and Gomez was unstable, Konate was of course the only main center -back that could rely on in the next 2–3 years. If Slot could not hold him, his reconstruction in Liverpool would encounter a big hole right from the center of the defense.
And to keep people, the most important thing is transparency. There is no half -hearted thing. Liverpool or extended with Konate this summer with a convincing offer, or they have to accept to sell him in 2025 to avoid losing.
A class player like Konate, at the age of 26, has 2 years of contract, can completely bring the transfer amount of no less than 50 million pounds – if Liverpool promptly make decisions.
Merseyside people are always proud of their identity, about the ability to retain symbols. But the modern football era is no longer a place for mere emotions. Everything must be planned by strategy and reason.
Liverpool had believed in Trent's love, and eventually lost him without gaining any money. They cannot continue to live with hope anymore. With Konate, a need for another approach – reality, fast and drastic.
Sometimes, a contract is not merely a signature, but a statement about ambition. Liverpool needs that statement. And need it before the trace of the trent is turned into a dangerous path in Anfield.