The future of Ibrahima Konate appears no clearer as two reliable reporters shared conflicting updates on the probability of the defender signing a new contract at Liverpool.
The 26-year-old is into the final three months of his current deal at Anfield and has yet to resolve his future, with a huge decision needing to be made one way or another in the coming weeks.
Recent updates from trusted LFC-focused reporters David Lynch and Lewis Steele have indicated that the defender is close to reaching an agreement over an extension with the Reds, and Fabrizio Romano has echoed that school of thought.
In an update on his eponymous YouTube channel, the Italian stated: “After long negotiations, after many months spent in contact, what I can tell you is that these negotiations between Liverpool management and Ibrahima Konate – the player and his camp – are moving to the final stages.
“The salary is almost agreed; the length of the contract is being discussed. That’s the [main sticking] point, the number of years. There are some clauses to clarify, but Konate and Liverpool are almost there in negotiations over new contract.”
However, David Ornstein has told NBC Sports (via Anfield Sector) that ‘my latest information is [that] his situation is at an impasse’, which’d suggest that the centre-back isn’t as close to an agreement as other sources have indicated.
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While several trusted reporters have shared positive updates on Konate’s contract situation in recent days, Ornstein’s status as one of the most reliable football journalists around means that his information carries substantial weight.
Therefore, it’d appear that Liverpool fans continue to be kept guessing as to whether or not the 26-year-old will agree a new contract before the end of the season and his subsequent participation in the World Cup.
Lynch did make reference to an ‘initial impasse’ in his most recent update on the Frenchman, but also mentioned that talks over a renewed deal are ‘now advancing towards a conclusion’. Allied with Romano’s information, it suggests that some important hurdles have been overcome after a lengthy deadlock.
Konate has had a somewhat chequered season on the pitch and been the subject of some scathing criticism, but he’s proven in his time at Anfield that he can be an imperious defender when he’s at his best, and the Reds aren’t blessed with an overflow of options in that area of the pitch.
We remain hopeful that he will pen a new contract with Liverpool in the coming weeks and commit his prime footballing years to the Merseyside outfit, who realistically will have only another year or two with Virgil van Dijk to call upon.
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