23 Jun 2025 11:00:47
Ibrahima Konaté disappointed with Liverpool contract offer as talks stall
Defender's representatives pushing for higher basic wage
Fears at Anfield over running down deal that ends in 2026.
23 Jun 2025 11:04:46
Offer him what he wants on the proviso he gets sold and moved on from the club within the next year.
We have to put a stop to losing players on free transfers.
23 Jun 2025 11:12:57
Yea wages are an issue.
However there are no problems and it will be resolved once we make some room.
Unlike someone Konate has not been learning Spanish.
23 Jun 2025 11:21:20
So no change then.
23 Jun 2025 11:28:59
What does once we make room, mean? You think Konate will be sold?
23 Jun 2025 11:37:36
Akira, yeah but he already speaks French ;-)
23 Jun 2025 11:42:57
We need a deal for him and also a close substitute. Good ball header, ball playing, pass master, ball progressing tall, fast and energetic player.
23 Jun 2025 11:43:01
I can understand the reluctance of the club to give Konate big money. He has only just had a full season of remaining fit, and for all his merits, I have not seen any evidence that he is able to marshal the defence when van Dijk is not there. Given he would have to be the one to step up when van Dijk leaves, that’s a pretty big reason to not give someone van Dijk wages.
23 Jun 2025 11:59:51
Yep totally agree, todays footballers are spoiled brats, everyone want high wages without merit.
Sell him and move on, Konate was always liability in my eyes, he just had VVD to cover for him and he was best option out of the rest.
If anyone noticed he moves lika a stork (you know that big bird with skinny legs) .
His movement is the main issue why he is injury prone, and it looks like we finally have a medical and physio team to combat that and enable him to be available and now he wants big money. Joke.
23 Jun 2025 12:02:15
I think he means that the salary cap space to give ibou the deal that he wants will be cleared once some players have been sold.
23 Jun 2025 12:06:42
Yes, Akira, but I hear Konate's a hot dog at french.
23 Jun 2025 12:14:11
Van Dijk will probably still be there by the time any contract extension for Ibou runs out though. Guy can easily go to 38/ 39.
23 Jun 2025 12:30:55
I don't get the narrative that Ibou isn't very good and was carried by vvd throughout his time with us, I find that to be more than a bit ridiculous to be honest. He was a crucial part of us winning the title and has qualities to his game that even Virgil does not, which is why they are a complementary pair and work well in tandem. Also the suggestion above that he owes his fitness to our new sport science team, okay, but he also needs to put in the work to stay fit on and off the pitch, and by all accounts he has put a lot of time into doing so. Saying he's a spoilt brat who should be grateful because Liverpool made him look much better than he is. doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.
The kid has worked incredibly hard to reach a certain level (the level of a premier league champion) and feels he deserves to be paid for reaching that level. If we agree, we will pay, if we don't, he will run his contract down. I don't know why we have to attack the player for asking what any athlete in his position would reasonably ask for.
23 Jun 2025 12:34:13
Konate can also decide to run down his contract and leave on a free, just as the club have a right not to give him what he wants. He can't and won't be sold without his permission, regardless what fans say.
23 Jun 2025 12:39:08
Both have to meet in between.
Zed - liked your comment not needing to learn French and Akira saying he is not learing Spanish.
Hope this will be resolved and we will have our first choice center back pairing fit and happy to defend the league title.
23 Jun 2025 12:52:42
I don't get the hate for Konate we have just won the league with him and VVD at the back people seem to forget all the covering he did with Trent at rightback (occasionally) hopeful a new deal can be sorted because we are short of centerback options.
23 Jun 2025 12:44:06
PatrikBurger
You are entirely correct. Ibou stayed fit and we won the league and had the second best defence in the league and best in the CL.
The idea that we have so many average players being carried is largely informed by people who don’t value the players we have because they’re obsessed with players at other clubs that we should buy.
Konate is an absolutely brilliant centre back. The notion he isn’t is refuted by anyone with a more than passing appreciation of football.
23 Jun 2025 12:54:09
Konate was very good last season with fewer brain farts than usual. It did help that Trent was further back and Konate didn't have to cover 2 positions. Anyone looks better with Virg next to them so that isn't an issue for me.
Both parties seem to be quite calm about the contract situation from what is read so I'm fully expecting (and hoping) a new contract is signed later on the summer.
23 Jun 2025 13:34:10
Ibou is a beast of a cb. He has impressed so much playing with virg last season and the previous seasons too. He is fast, aggressive, loves a tackle, win most aerial duels and a decent passer of the ball. He deserves a new contract. He's an experienced prem league and French international player.
I read some click bait rumours of Marc Guehi possibly signing for us. On paper, he's experienced prem player too, but I would love to hear from others on other aspects of his game. is he pacey, aggressive in tackle, positional sense and passing range? Is he any better than Joe Gomez?
Also, can anyone please name any "under the radar" player that we could sign. is there a Hyypia, Agger, Matip out there.
I know we were never in for him, but Pacho of PSG. what a player.
23 Jun 2025 13:47:00
Konate is a top class centre back, he’s got the lot as far as I’m concerned, he’s big, quick, dominant in the air and on the ground, he’s decent on the ball and he doesn’t go hiding.
Plus he’s had go largely do the work of two defenders while Arnold was having wet dreams about playing alongside his spouse Bellingham in Madrid over the last two years.
Last season he was available most if not all of the season too.
I’d like to think we’ll get this one over the line as there’s not many as good as him and who have all those qualities out there.
23 Jun 2025 14:07:12
Chiesa 150kpw
Nunez 140kpw
Robbo 160kpw
Seems these lot need to be moved on so we can give the pay rise. Konate needs to double his wages.
23 Jun 2025 14:38:28
Nobody really knows what he has been offered or what he is wanting, from what has been reported the club want an incentive based contract and he wants guaranteed. Hopefully it's just a case of meeting in the middle.
23 Jun 2025 14:55:11
From what I am reading, the total wage being offered doesn't seem to be the problem. The problem seems to be that Liverpool wants his wage to be performance based. If Konate hits his targets he will get the wage he wants but Konate wants a bigger guaranteed wage without having to rely on his performance.
23 Jun 2025 15:52:23
Basically Ibou doesn’t want to work on a high commission basis.
I get that.
23 Jun 2025 15:59:44
He’s not a world beater but CDs who can cope in the premier league are hard to come by. Sign him up for a decent duration.
23 Jun 2025 16:11:06
I'm very glad you mentioned Hyypia @Kingkev as I was going to make the comparison to him and Henchoz with VVD and Konate. Hyypia was the defender I thought we would really miss (and I don't think we had anyone as good until VVD) whereas Henchoz was a really good player but wasn't quite the same class.
Konate is a lot better now than when he first joined but I still think he's the one that you can replace more easily. If he stays then great, if he goes and we buy another good CB then great.
23 Jun 2025 16:12:39
He stopped having Spanish Lessons when Bournemouth accepted Real Madrids bid for Huijsen.
A double snub perhaps? one for Konate and one for LFC as rumours were rife Huijsen was wanted by Arne also!
Or perhaps Xabi in a years time may want to pair Huijsen £50 Million with Konate free transfer, two young top class centre backs for circa £50 Million in todays market is very, very canny business indeed.
My personal view is Arne also wanted the Huijsen/ Konate partnership for LFC for squad rotation, competition, injuries and when VVD hangs up his boots as they would have to rotate till VVD did so! a seamless transition also for Arne and only circa £50 million to boot is most, most appealing, when VVD is eventually put out to grass sadly.
The best "Poachers" ever? are certainly a thorn in our side for our best "free transfer" players and our possible future centre back plans as above, though Arne did at least make them cough up £10 million for TAA only because of the Club World Cup otherwise it was a "free transfer" as they would have very keenly waited till Trent's contract expired.
Ibou can still have Spanish Lessons, as he may settle down in Sunny Spain one day, unless Arne wants him to stay in wet and windy Liverpool, though Ibou will certainly know that Liverpool Football Club are the absolute past masters of replacing great players with equal or better. Keegan, Dalglish, Thompson, Hansen/ Lawrenson, Torres, Suarez and many, many more hopefully TAA/ Frimpong are the next nice couple?
23 Jun 2025 16:24:13
Makes sense that we make room within our wage budget from selling Quansah, Nunez and Chiesa.
I think Robbo will stay which means Tsimikas will almost certainly leave.
The problem we have is time. Time to sell these players, make room for Konate's contract and also identify a younger CB option who is happy to be an understudy and play as 3rd choice CB, who's wages aren't massive and is good enough to fill in if there's an injury crisis.
Not asking much are we?
23 Jun 2025 16:37:17
If you can cope in the Premier League and form its second best defence…. then there are very few places in the world you won’t beat.
So ergo - world beater.
23 Jun 2025 16:44:03
A guaranteed wage means you can swing the lead if you want and still get the same money regardless (which favours the player! )
An incentive scheme means you will have to earn that extra money by maintaining good performance levels (that favours the team, and the club, and is the better choice for rewarding consistent performance levels if you think you are capable of doing so, obviously someone at the club has doubts for a guaranteed wage, week in, week out.
"he wants his cake and eat it too" if he wants guaranteed, which obviously the club doesn't want because that can reward bad performance.
23 Jun 2025 16:59:58
007
OR - as with most professionals, you want a similar deal to the one your colleagues get for doing an equivalent job. What % of Mo and Virg’s deal is performance based…you can absolutely guarantee Ibou is armed with this information.
You also don’t want your earnings to be largely dependent on what others do or indeed do not do. I can’t see many people objecting to Ibous output. If reporting on his wages is true we’ve had full effort when he’s on £80k it’s utterly weird to think he’d simply down tools if he got a pay rise. What has led to this weird conclusion?
Also, this article if from a United leaning journalist with zero sources sited. To take this as anything other than scuttlebutt is daft.
I reckon rival fans would be weirded out by how most people on here view our title winning side!
23 Jun 2025 18:25:39
Why would Konate sign a new contract on the proviso that he gets sold within a year?
23 Jun 2025 18:55:11
If Konate doesn't sign a new deal, sell him. We can't let Madrid sting us for another free next summer. I had reservations about Guehi, as he was a Chelsea reject. Then again, so were Mo and KDB. But as we've been linked with him for over 12 months, I've watched him more closely. I think he could be an upgrade on Konate. He's fast, good positionally, good on the tackle, and surprisingly good in the air for his size. But there are two aspects of his game where he is miles ahead of Ibou. He is much better on the ball, both passing and carrying it into midfield. Also, he is more of a leader. He has captained a Palace team that has improved a lot over the past 18 months. It always seems that Konate needs VVD alongside him to be his best. Don't get me wrong, I like Konate and sometimes he looks world class. Other games, he can be a liability. Also he gives a lot of fouls away on dangerous areas with silly and unnecessary pushes. Ideally, I would like Konate to sign and stay, but buy Guehi too. Strength in depth at the back would ve massively improved.
23 Jun 2025 18:58:19
I've seen this coming for a while. I really don't want to loose Konate, I love him he's an absolute beast. He has stoped running round like a headless Chicken and got better in a positional sense. I can see why he wants a better offer, when some of the numbers are banded about. I also think he can be easily influenced by his agent. My preference would be to either give him a decent contract (4years) with a view to be moving him on after 2 years, as champions league winner with 2 premier leagues under his belt. I totally believe we win both ove the next 2 years along with others. However if greed becomes an issue and stalling over contract is the pathway, look to move him on to PSG in Jan at the latest. We can not let another run down a contract like TAA That level of greed makes me Sick.
23 Jun 2025 21:23:13
Grain of salt on Konate contract, came from a Manure writer.
23 Jun 2025 22:03:14
If Konate doesn't want to sign a new contract, buy Guehi and let Konate fight for 3rd or 4th place centre back, he won't make the French world cup squad if he doesn't play. He makes his choice and takes the consequences. To rub salt in the wound we wouldn't have to sell him in January either as by then he'd be almost worthless.
23 Jun 2025 23:02:45
Looking at the best CB pairing that we've had in recent years (VVD and Gomez), I am of the view that VVD and Konaté is a better one. So I don't understand the negativity on Konaté either. Yes, there have been fitness issues but that's part of the game and a professional sportsman's life.
I think the club will sign him eventually, once, as said above, space is made for his new wages to replace those players that will be leaving.
What I don't understand is this interest in Guehi. If it's a tactic to pressure Konaté into signing, it can easily backfire. I don't think Konaté will have any major qualms about joining the Champions League winner, if he's pushed into it.
24 Jun 2025 07:26:36
It’s just a negotiation.
The employee wants the best they can get in terms of salary.
The employer wants the least it needs to pay in salary in order to keep the employee.
Often as not they reach an agreement somewhere between the two - like we did with VVD and Mo in those long ago times of early May.
I’m still enjoying the logic defying view that ‘If he doesn’t sign a contract we should sell him’ - some comedy never gets old.