Liverpool are facing another contract saga just weeks after Trent Alexander-Arnold completed his move to Real Madrid on a free transfer.
According to the Guardian, Ibrahima Konate is stalling on signing a new deal.
The France international is entering the final year of his current contract, and Liverpool are keen for him to sign a new long-term deal.
They want to avoid a repeat of the Alexander-Arnold situation, but it’s proving to be far more complicated.
Konate turned down the club’s initial contract offer, which sent alarm bells ringing throughout Anfield.
The issue centres around the structure of the club’s proposal, which left Konate disappointed.
Liverpool’s offer was based on meeting performance targets, but Konate’s representatives are pushing for a higher basic wage.
They want a contract proposal that reflects Konate’s importance to the club.
Talks over a new contract for Konate were placed on hold last season, with the club focused squarely on tying down Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold.
They got two out of three, with the England international opting to join Madrid on a free transfer.
That hasn’t left them with much time to try and convince Konate, but his future is far from a foregone conclusion, with talks set to continue.
Liverpool are facing a tricky summer situation. They wasted no time replacing Alexander-Arnold by snapping up Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen.
They’ve also reunited the Dutchman with his ex-Leverkusen teammate Florian Wirtz in a British-record deal, while Milos Kerkez is on the verge of joining from Bournemouth.
But there are a few internal contract issues that need to be sorted. Andrew Robertson is entering the final 12 months of his deal and is attracting interest from Atletico Madrid.
They won’t stand in his way if a deal can be agreed with Atletico this summer, but Konate’s contract situation is where the headache lies.
He’s on Madrid’s radar, so there’s a chance they are already in his ear. Liverpool want Konate to stay, but will not break their wage structure to keep him.
