Richard Hughes’ summer to-do list has just gotten a little more complicated.
Not only does the Liverpool Sporting Director need to replace the output and sheer dressing room presence of Mohamed Salah and Andrew Robertson, he now needs to come up with a plan to fill the void left by Ibrahima Konate.
Though back in April the Frenchman declared that a new contract was close and “for sure there is a big chance I’m here next season”, reports this week confirmed the 27-year-old would be leaving the club when his existing deal expires at the end of June.
What exactly has transpired is unknown. According to Ismael Mahmoud, a reporter for WinWin, Konate’s entourage were confident at the beginning of May that an agreement with Liverpool would be reached.
They were even laughing off the reports suggesting otherwise. While Ben Jacobs reports there was a significant gulf between the club and player, despite the Reds being prepared to pay big wages to extend the former RB Leipzig defender’s stint on Merseyside.
The real reason for the parting of ways will likely remain unknown, but the sudden decision not to tie down Konate to a new, improved deal only adds to Liverpool’s summer rebuild.
In a window that should’ve been simply adding the finishing touches to their 2025 summer of spending, Hughes is, once again, looking at a major rebuild.
A new right-back is required and with doubts over the future of Joe Gomez paired with the loss of Konate, a new centre-back is likely on the agenda. While Kostas Tsimikas is set to return from his loan spell with AS Roma, there’s talk a new left-back is also on the cards for the Reds as they look for a rival to Milos Kerkez.
Midfield reinforcements are on the agenda too, with Adam Wharton believed to be top of their wishlist and the most recent reports suggest two new wingers are wanted.
While major squad surgery was already on the cards by all accounts, retaining Konate would’ve been a short-term win as well as a long-term boost.
And this makes the decision to let him leave even more confusing. Unless he was asking for ridiculous money, retaining his services should’ve been a no brainer.
In terms of the big picture, Virgil van Dijk is heading into the final 12 months of his deal. Given how difficult it was to strike an agreement last season on a two year extension, you have to assume there’s going to be a reluctance from the club to offer a 35-year-old a new deal, even if he is still one of the best in the world.
The sad truth is, this is probably Van Dijk’s last season with the club. And if reports are to be believed, he’s going to be on babysitting duty with Liverpool putting faith in Giovanni Leoni and Jeremy Jacquet.
Both are supremely talented with huge potential but you’re asking the latter to develop on the job while acclimating to the rigours of English football. Leoni is an unknown after a serious knee injury. In other words, Van Dijk is going to be doing a lot of heavy lifting next term before potentially handing over the reins to the young duo.
Liverpool aren’t maximising Van Dijk’s time here. They aren’t maximising Alisson’s remaining time with the club either. Two legends are spending their final 12 months with the club helping inexperienced centre-backs come to terms with everything related to the Reds.
Konate would’ve offered some middle ground. He’d be the link between the serial winners and the new guys. You shouldn’t underestimate the value of continuity and consistency.
This time next year, Liverpool likely have a new starting goalkeeper to go along with a new centre-back pairing. It takes time to form an understanding.
It means, for a third successive campaign, it’ll be a season of transition.
In the short-term, it leaves Liverpool a little bare in defence. Right now, Arne Slot’s centre-back options are Gomez, Van Dijk, Leoni and Jacquet. The latter two are yet to make their Premier League debut for the Reds and both are recovering from long-term injuries while Gomez just isn’t reliable.
Reports claim Liverpool aren’t in the market for a centre-back but to put it bluntly, they have to be. And it is going to cost them.
Recently, Maxence Lacroix has been linked with a move to Anfield for a rumoured fee of £35million. Add in a signing on bonus and wages and you’re looking at £70million in total to secure him to a five year deal without any bonuses or incentives. He then needs to adapt to a new system and a new team which comes with risk.
It’s a significant outlay. It’s the same sort of outlay the club would’ve had to agree to had they put Konate on £250,000-per-week.
But Konate knows the team and has existing relationships. That would’ve been a better use of the money, no?
Liverpool used to be smart in the transfer market. But this appears to be the latest in a long line of dumb decisions.
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