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Liverpool is reportedly feeling hopeful over its chances of tying Ibrahima Konate to a new contract at Anfield.
Konate's current deal is due to expire at the end of this season, and he has been linked with a move to the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.
The center-back remains on the same terms he signed upon joining the Reds from RB Leipzig in 2021. Earlier this year it was suggested that Konate was asking for a pay rise from £80,000 ($105,000) per week to £200,000 ($263,000) per week, and updates on the Frenchman's future have been in short supply in recent months.
As things stand, Konate will be free to sign a pre-contract agreement with a foreign club from January 1 onwards.
However, Rousing the Kop is now reporting that Liverpool is confident of keeping hold of the 26-year-old, and wants to tie him down before the end of the year.
Talks between Liverpool and Konate are reported to have gone well over the last week, with Konate's camp insisting that it has not agreed terms with any other club over a free transfer for the defender next year.
Konate does not give many interviews, and has not spoken publicly about his future since May, when he talked about his goals with the club.
"I know I have a lot of objectives with this club: to become a leader, to win everything," Konate told reporters after Liverpool won the league. "I am very happy here to be fair.
"This is another conversation with the club and my agent, we will see what will happen in the next few weeks or I don't know when, but we will see, let me say that.
"[Are the talks] progressing? Not really, but my agent met the club last week, but I don't know what will happen. I cannot say what my agent said to me but yeah, we will see what will happen."
Konate is believed to have turned down several contract offers from the Reds as he has not been happy with the terms offered to him, but the latest update suggests a breakthrough could be on the horizon.
If a new contract is to come to fruition for Konate at Anfield, it would provide stability in the center of defense amid the uncertain futures of Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez.
Van Dijk turns 35 next year, while Liverpool has been open to selling Gomez in each of the last two summer transfer windows.
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