“One Liverpool Need To Get Resolved.” – Paul Gorst On ‘Authoritative’ Liverpool Man | OneFootball

By James Cranford

Liverpool secured one of their greatest European away results earlier this week, as late substitute Harvey Elliott sealed a 1-0 win over Paris St. Germain.

It was backs-to-the-walls stuff for Arne Slot’s side who withstood a consistent barrage from PSG. The Parisians had a superb goal by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia narrowly ruled out for offside, and were incensed by the decision not to send off Ibou Konaté for a strong tackle on the edge of the penalty area.

Konaté’s superb performances this season have contributed heavily to the Reds’ commanding position at the top of the Premier League, but with only 15 months remaining on his contract, speculation is mounting that the likes of Real Madrid or PSG could try to convince him to leave Anfield on a free transfer. The Frenchman revealed he had been offered terms in the pre-match press conference ahead of January’s fixture against Lille, but an agreement is yet to be reached.

On the latest episode of our Journo Insight show, we asked Liverpool Echo’s LFC correspondent Paul Gorst for his thoughts on Konaté’s contract.

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Paul said:

“He’s certainly having his best season at Liverpool, isn’t he? He’s probably having it at an opportune time, from his personal perspective, with contract talks now underway. I guess he will be able to name his price.

“It was interesting hearing him say in that Lille pre-match press conference that he’d been offered a deal, but was unwilling to go any further on it.

“You could understand why a club like Real Madrid would be looking at him, given his age, his quality, and this new model that Real Madrid have, where they look to get the world’s best players for no transfer fees.

“If we are in the summer months and he’s down to his last 12 months, it’s just rinse and repeat, isn’t it, for what we’ve already said about Trent, Van Dijk and Salah every week?

“It’s one that Liverpool need to get resolved sooner rather than later. We know that they’re being proactive. They’ve offered a deal.”

Will Liverpool be in the market for a new left-back?

Redmen Reacts

It is easy to forget that Ibou Konaté – described as ‘authoritative’ late last year – began this season behind Jarell Quansah in Liverpool’s centre-back pecking order. That state of affairs did not last long, however, and Konaté has been rightly lauded for his performances since replacing Quansah off the bench on the opening day of the season. Given the amount of noise and column inches devoted to the Reds’ high-profile contract issues this campaign, it is vital that we do not see a repeat with Ibou next year. Signs are promising given the man himself volunteered the information that the club have begun negotiations, but his wage demands could rightfully increase with every good performance he puts in. He declared the partnership between himself and Virgil van Dijk as the best in Europe, and even the biggest LFC sceptic would be hard-pressed to disagree with him. A serious offer with wages befitting that of an elite player should be on the table, as the football world knows Real Madrid has a history of signing the best around for free.