Jermaine Pennant has tipped Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate to leave Anfield as Arne Slot targets a £50m transfer signing.
Konate has been a key player for the Reds since his £35m move from RB Leipzig in 2021, starring in Liverpool’s Premier League title win last season.
The 26-year-old has formed a formidable centre-back partnership with all-time great Virgil van Dijk, with Liverpool boasting the second-best defensive record in the Premier League last year.
Konate is set to enter the final 12 months of his contract at Anfield and a number of top European clubs have expressed interest in signing him next summer on a free transfer.
Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Champions League winners PSG are all admirers of Konate, who has 23 caps for France.
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Talks over a contract extension are expected to take place but ex-Liverpool winger Pennant believes the club’s pursuit of Marc Guehi suggests Konate will be leaving either this summer or in 12 months’ time.
It was reported last week that Liverpool were lining up a bid for Crystal Palace defender Guehi, who too will be out of contract at the end of next season.
Palace rejected a £70m bid from Tottenham in January and knocked back multiple offers from Newcastle United last summer but may be more inclined to agree a deal now given Guehi’s contract situation.
It has been reported that the FA Cup holders want around £50m for a player who starred for England at last summer’s Euros.
‘If Liverpool are in for Marc Guehi, that signals to me that Konate is more on the side of leaving,’ Pennant told talkSPORT.
What has Ibrahima Konate said about his future at Liverpool?
‘I just want to say one thing: everything you saw on social media is completely fake.
‘I didn’t even ask for something from the club. They made me an offer, and I replied to them with something, that is it.
‘The rest [speculation] that I want to wait until the end… I want this, all of it is completely fake. And even the big journalists said in November I am very close to signing the deal.
‘I was like: ‘Ah, they have more information than me!?’ It was not true at that moment and that is why I was a little bit mad because it was not true at this moment.
‘I knew at one moment people would think I didn’t want to sign the contract but I was never close to signing it. We will see what will happen.’
Ibrahima Konate addressing speculation over contract talks last month.
‘I’m thinking, is this a situation like Real Madrid and Trent Alexander-Arnold, where Liverpool are saying to Guehi, “Just see your contract out and we will look after you”?
‘Because Konate is in the same situation, he’s in the last year of his contract and they haven’t agreed a deal.
‘So Liverpool might be saying to him, “Look, Konate’s going to go at the end of this season, Marc Guehi, you see out your contract and come, join us for a free and we’re prepared to offer you this”.
‘I could see that happening.’
Crystal Palace are already preparing for Guehi’s exit by opening talks with Sporting Lisbon to sign 21-year-old centre-back Ousmane Diomande.
Guehi refused to commit his future to the Eagles when asked about his future before Palace’s FA Cup final victory over Manchester City.
‘I think the most important thing is just always doing the best that I can for this football club,’ he said. ‘I come in every day and I try to be the same.
‘I try to work hard. And you know, this football club has given me a lot. I’m still under contract at this football club, so my focus is always at this football club.
‘So, you know, for me, the most important is just doing the best I can and seeing where the future holds.’
Liverpool have enjoyed a productive start to the summer transfer window after winning the Premier League by ten points last season.
They spent a club-record £116m to sign Florian Wirtz and also welcomed the German’s former Bayer Leverkusen teammate Jeremie Frimpong to Anfield.
Milos Kerkez, Bournemouth’s 21-year-old left-back, is expected to join as a replacement for Andy Robertson, who has attracted interest from Atletico Madrid.
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