Ibrahima Konate 'not as good as he thinks' as Liverpool told to sign Marc Guehi

Ibrahima Konate has been told that he's not as good as he thinks he is by former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore, who believes the Reds could find at least half a dozen better partners for Virgil van Dijk from around Europe than the Frenchman.

Konate could leave Liverpool for free next summer, when his current contract with the Anfield club is due to expire, and Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi could arrive to replace him.

Liverpool almost signed Guehi on deadline day earlier this month, only for Palace to pull the plug on the deal at the 11th hour due to Oliver Glasner's concerns over a lack of defensive cover in the Palace squad.

Guehi, like Konate, is set to become a free agent in 2026, and Collymore believes he would be a more than adequate replacement for the Frenchman, who continues to be linked with a free transfer to Real Madrid.

“I think with Konate, there may be an element that he thinks he is better than he really is," Collymore told 10bet Casino.

"If you look over his Liverpool career, and if you were to ask the club’s supporters to be honest, after all the hype and everything that comes from playing for Liverpool, they will say he’s not the next great European central defender.

"I think over the course of his career at Anfield, he’s been a six-out-of-10 player. If we're talking about Virgil van Dijk, he’s a solid nine out of ten.

"So, one of the reasons why Liverpool wanted to go in for Marc Guehi was probably to have their back-up ready in case Konate didn’t sign a new contract in the summer.

"I think the club will probably have Guehi on the backburner for the summer to replace Konate, and I think Arne Slot has already hinted they might make another move for him in January and not even wait.

“That move will depend on Crystal Palace and their progress in Europe. I think Konate is a good center-back, but he’s not a great central defender and Liverpool could find six, seven, eight options from around Europe, from the Premier League, from La Liga, from Serie A, from the Bundesliga that would be better central defenders to partner Virgil van Dijk.

"So, for me, I've always looked at this situation and gone, 'this isn't something to be terrified about.'

"This is just something where Liverpool needs to be proactive and bring somebody in. And I think that somebody might be Marc Guehi in January.”

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