The future of Ibrahima Konate at Liverpool is uncertain as Arne Slot, the new manager, is not persuaded by the French defender.
Due to the 25-year-old’s struggles with injuries during Jurgen Klopp’s final season and his benchwarming role during France’s Euro 2024 campaign, it has been suggested that Slot is dubious about the defender.
Football Insider article Konate still hasn’t “convinced” Slot as Liverpool prepares for the upcoming Premier League season. The former manager of Feyenoord is said to have taken some time to reflect due to worries about his irregular availability and performance reports.
Konate is competing for a starting berth with players like Virgil van Dijk, Jarell Quansah, Joe Gomez, and Sepp van den Berg after Joel Matip left in the summer.
The later member of the quintet has lately been connected to several Bundesliga teams; according to Florian Plettenberg of Sky Sports Germany, Stuttgart and Hoffenheim are among the teams interested in van den Berg. Borussia Monchengladbach, Wolfsburg, Mainz, and Bayer Leverkusen are all interested in the 22-year-old who made an impression when on loan in Germany the previous season.
Plettenberg also states that Liverpool has turned down bids for van den Berg. The Reds are reportedly willing to pay $25 million (£20 million/€22 million) for the defender, a sum that PSV Eindhoven, a Dutch team, is rumored to have objected to.
Van den Berg is probably staying with the Reds this season because he doesn’t appear to be close to leaving Anfield this summer and Slot is apparently impressed with the way the defender has played in the preseason.
Van den Berg, a defender who is prepared for first-team action after spending last season with Mainz in the Bundesliga, may be forced to leave Anfield if he isn’t given regular playing time.
When asked about the asking price Liverpool had set for him, van den Berg responded, “If you want to leave, then £20m is quite a lot,” to reporters as the Reds were on their US preseason tour.
“I am aware that absurd things might occur in today’s market. They placed a price tag on me, which given my strong season the previous year, Liverpool could believe is fair. My initial thought was that it was pretty high! It is, of course, complimentary in one sense. It is evidence of my success from the previous year. On the other hand, it makes things a little more challenging. It wouldn’t be pleasant if all they felt I was worth was £2 million. However, £20 million might be a bit much.”
“It would be amazing if Liverpool chose to simply cash in this summer on the defender given the amount of money they invested on Konate, but stranger things have happened.
“Konate’s sale could result from Slot believing that van den Berg is a better match for his system; this would have seemed improbable before the summer transfer window opened. Nonetheless, Konate seems more likely to play for Liverpool at the end of the transfer window than van den Berg, who is now drawing a lot of interest.”
