Ibrahima Konate's future has been the topic of plenty of speculation with the Liverpool defender free to speak to suitors in January unless he signs an extension before then
Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate has indicated a decision on his future might not be too far away. The French international is out of contract at Anfield in June, with no word yet on whether he will sign an extension.
Real Madrid have long been linked with the former RB Leipzig man, who was part of the French squad at the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024. Los Blancos raided Liverpool for Trent Alexander-Arnold last summer and could end up repeating the trick.
There may be some on Merseyside willing to take optimism from the fact that the Reds have left it late to agree extensions with star players in the past. Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk were both less than six months away from being able to leave for nothing, only to both agree extensions towards the end of last season's title run.
"I've seen a lot of things in the press recently, like Liverpool have made me a new offer,” Konate said while away with France for the November international break. “I don't know where that's coming from. My agents are continuing discussions with Liverpool. I hope my decision will be made very soon so I can announce it.”
Konate was speaking ahead of France's World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan on Sunday. He was an unused substitute last time out as Les Bleus made sure of qualification with a victory over Ukraine, but has a chance to feature from the start in Baku.
Kylian Mbappe scored twice against Ukraine, with Michael Olise and Hugo Ekitike also on target. Ekitike's goal was his first at senior international level, and Konate also spoke about his club team-mate ahead of the Azerbaijan clash.
"I challenged him when he arrived. After training, he was a bit tired. He didn’t want to go to the gym at first, so I looked him in the eyes for five seconds and said, ‘Do you want to play for the French national team?’" Konate said of Ekitike, suggesting the Anfield club have a "different intensity" compared to what the striker experienced in Germany.
“I left the room, and when I came back, he was in the gym," Konate added. "He works hard every day. He’s really stepped up in that regard. I think he turned a corner because of that.
"He made a strong case for himself in France’s last match. I was extremely happy for him (after his goal against Ukraine), because he was heavily criticised before, especially during his time at PSG. He had some difficult times but he's on the right track."