Despite Ibrahima Konate running out of contract at Liverpool at the end of the season and his liberty to talk to clubs outside England from January 1st, the Premier League champions have no intention of selling the 26-year-old French defender this winter at this point, according to TEAMtalk. and they’re keen to tie him down to a new deal. That will only change if reaching an agreement on that front becomes impossible.

Konate was linked heavily with Real Madrid and tipped to follow in the footsteps of Trent Alexander-Arnold, who ran down his Liverpool contract to join Los Blancos as a free agent this summer. However, Real have reportedly given up on their interest in Konate and have started looking elsewhere to boost their defensive ranks.

Despite some questionable performances this season, Konate remains a regular starter under Arne Slot, having started all 16 Premier League games so far, as well as all six in the Champions League. Regardless of what happens, Liverpool are expected to move for another centre-back – Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi and Borussia Dortmund’s Nico Schlotterbeck have been mentioned as potential targets, but the idea is to bring another man to compete with Konate, rather than replace him.