Ibrahima Konate contract update offers huge hint at Liverpool transfer plans

Liverpool lost a key player on a free transfer last year and the Reds look set to suffer the same fate this summer, with Ibrahima Konate on course to become a free agent

(Image: James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)

Liverpool is reportedly set to focus on strengthening in the center of defense during the summer transfer window, having failed to make a breakthrough in contract negotiations with Ibrahima Konate.

Konate's current deal is due to expire at the end of the season, when he will be able to leave the club for nothing.

Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain were both linked with moves for Konate last year, but speculation surrounding a possible move to either of those clubs has died down of late, owing to the Frenchman's poor form this season.

However, despite Konate's struggles this term, it will surely concern Liverpool that two high-profile assets could leave for nothing in successive summers, following Trent Alexander-Arnold's move away last year.

The Reds are in a precarious position at center-half, with Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez also into the last 18 months of their deals.

Van Dijk will turn 35 this year, too, while Gomez has been plagued by injuries throughout his time at Liverpool, and his fitness issues seem to be getting worse as he approaches 30.

Konate, Van Dijk and Gomez are the club's only fit center-backs at the moment.

Giovanni Leoni is the only other center-back in the Liverpool's squad. The 19-year-old has been missing since September – and will miss the remainder of the season – due to a serious knee injury.

Virgil van Dijk is into the last 18 months of his contract(Image: (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images))

Liverpool was hopeful of going into this season with five center-backs, but a deal to sign Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi collapsed at the 11th hour on transfer deadline day last summer.

The Reds retain an interest in Guehi, but they will not have the free run at him that they appeared to have last year, due to the player's contract situation at Palace.

Like Konate, Guehi is also set to become a free agent at the end of the campaign, and he is the subject of interest from a host of top clubs from Europe and abroad.

Guehi has been free to sign a pre-contract agreement with clubs outside the English league system since New Year's Day, and it has been reported that Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are among the clubs interested in signing him.

Manchester City, though, has been linked with a swoop for Guehi in January after Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias both suffered serious injuries earlier this month.