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Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate joked this week that Kylian Mbappe calls him "every few hours" about signing for Real Madrid. And while it was a joke, the context is clear.
Konate is now inside the final year of his contract at Liverpool and the last time he was asked about the situation publicly, he laughed off the suggestion that an agreement was close. So far, there has been no sign of a resolution.
Real Madrid is interested — and others could come to the table too should he become a free agent — and for Liverpool, who lost Trent Alexander-Arnold to the Spanish giant in similar circumstances, a repeat would not be ideal.
Yet, at the same time, this is not a comparable scenario to the long sagas that involved Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah last season. Konate is a very good player, but he is not irreplaceable.
Last season, Arne Slot managed to keep Konate fit for the whole campaign but that hasn't always been the case during his time at Anfield. And at the start of the new season, the 26-year-old has been in inconsistent form.
Konate has "been all over the place", Jamie Carragher said on Sky Sports after the second game of the Premier League season.
"He’s not at the races at all," Carragher said. "I absolutely shudder to think where Liverpool would be without Van Dijk, who has been absolutely outstanding in those games."
Konate was significantly better against Arsenal than in the other matches, but there has always been a question mark about his consistency.
When Van Dijk isn't alongside him, there is a feeling that he isn't yet ready to lead.
The Dutchman, in contrast, was (and still is) the world's best defender. In signing Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, Liverpool has considered what might come after Salah, but he scored 34 goals last season, and could clearly not be let go.
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While Liverpool would rather not lose Konate (at all, let alone for nothing), his situation is very different. And though the Reds missed out on signing Marc Guehi on deadline day, he could arrive next summer for free.
With Giovanni Leoni having come in during the summer window just gone and interest in Joe Gomez rebuffed, Liverpool has enough depth at the back for now.
This week, The Times described the Konate contract situation as being at an "impasse." If it came to it, taking out Konate for Guehi at the end of the season would be a decent swap.
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