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THE KONATé CROSSROADS: WHY ARNE SLOT IS DESPERATE TO KEEP LIVERPOOL’S DEFENSIVE PILLAR

Arne Slot confirms ongoing contract talks with Ibrahima Konaté! Read Virgil van Dijk's "world-class" verdict and transfer updates.

The Konaté Crossroads: Why Arne Slot Is Desperate To Keep Liverpool’s Defensive Pillar
Arne Slot Confirms Ongoing Contract Talks To Keep Ibrahima Konaté

Liverpool is trying to lock down Ibrahima Konate on a new contract, and Arne Slot has made it pretty clear he wants the defender to stick around.

Right now, there’s a real risk they lose Konate for nothing next summer. He cost them £36 million, but his contract runs out soon, and if they don’t sort things out, he could just walk away.

Meanwhile, Liverpool haven’t been sitting on their hands. They brought in Giovanni Leoni last summer for £26 million, and they’ve already lined up Jeremy Jacquet for an initial £55 million. He’ll join up after the season ends. So, yeah, they’re planning for the future in that backline.

Still, Virgil van Dijk isn’t shy about what he thinks. After Konate’s standout performance in Wednesday’s 1-0 win at Sunderland, Van Dijk called him “world class” and said, “Obviously, I want him to stay.”

Slot says the club’s working on it: “We’re in talks with him, so you can see what we want. We want him here. It’s ongoing, so we’ll see where it ends up. We wouldn’t be negotiating if we didn’t want him.”

Liverpool went through all this last year too: Van Dijk, Mohamed Salah, and Trent Alexander-Arnold are all heading into the last stretch of their deals. The club managed to keep Van Dijk and Salah. Now Slot’s basically saying it’s Konate’s turn to decide.

Konate has played 33 times this season. Last month, after his father passed away, he even cut short his compassionate leave to face Newcastle. That says a lot.

And with all the injuries Liverpool have had, Slot’s just glad Konate and Van Dijk are still healthy. “He’s been as important as Virgil,” Slot said. “There’s a bit of an age gap, and that matters sometimes. Ibou’s had a good run with lots of strong games, even if earlier in the season, one mistake cost us a goal, and people judged him for that. But his partnership with Virgil has been really solid since I arrived. Both have stayed fit, touch wood. We need them, not just for their quality but because, honestly, we don’t have many options behind them.”

INJURY BLOW: WATARU ENDO RULED OUT FOR "CONSIDERABLE PERIOD" AFTER SUNDERLAND HORROR INJURY

Wataru Endo is out for a "considerable period." Discover Arne Slot’s latest update on the Liverpool injury crisis and right-back woes.

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Endo joins Frimpong and Bradley on Liverpool’s growing injury list

Arne Slot said that Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo will be out for a while.

The 33-year-old midfielder seemed to get seriously hurt during the second half of their 1-0 win against Sunderland on Wednesday.

Endo, who was playing his first Premier League game of the season, was filling in at right-back. He got hurt when his foot was pinned under him while he tried to clear the ball. The Japanese international tried to keep playing, but he soon collapsed in pain and needed oxygen as he was taken off the field.

Liverpool is having a lot of injury problems at right-back, and Slot said that Endo is the latest player to get hurt in that position.

Before the FA Cup game against Brighton on Saturday, Slot said, We still need to check things out, but he'll be out for a considerable period.

Endo was playing right back because Dominik Szoboszlai was sent off in the loss to Manchester City on Sunday. Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong are also out with injuries. Giovani Leoni and Alexander Isak are also injured for an extended time.

But there was good news for Slot, as Joe Gomez played for the first time in three games, replacing Endo on the right side of the defence.

Slot's update comes after he said, after the Sunderland gam,e that he wasn't sure how bad Endo's injury was, but he called it serious.

"We don't know how serious it is yet because we need to check it out, but it doesn't look good," Slot added.

I'm not sure if it's his ankle. It's his foot, but we have to check if it's his ankle or his foot. I think he'll be out for a really long time. It's hard to say exactly how long right now.

FABRIZIO ROMANO CONFIRMS MLS AND SAUDI INTEREST IN MOHAMED SALAH FOR 2026

Mohamed Salah could leave Liverpool this summer! Discover the Saudi and MLS interest plus the Reds' £26m bid for Charlie Cresswell.

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Mohamed Salah Summer Exit?

Mohamed Salah’s future at Liverpool is still up in the air. Now, there’s a new club in the mix, while Liverpool is also being linked with a surprise move for a former Leeds United defender who left Elland Road for just £3.8 million.

Liverpool haven’t had the best season, but they’re still battling for a Champions League spot. Right now, they’re sixth in the Premier League, just three points off the top four. It’s always felt like a season of change at Anfield. The club dropped close to £450 million on new players, and a few big names are hitting the tail end of their careers.

Salah, now 33, is easily one of Liverpool’s all-time greats. But let’s be honest, he hasn’t looked himself this season. Even though he’s under contract until 2027, there’s a real chance he could leave this summer.

Fabrizio Romano, who’s usually spot-on with transfer news, just gave an update on Salah. More than one club wants him, and Al-Ittihad, who’ve chased him before, are still interested. On his YouTube channel, Romano said, “Clubs from Saudi Arabia will be back for Mohamed Salah in the summer transfer window. They’re going to be back in conversations. Al-Ittihad could be one of them.”

Al-Ittihad just lost stars like Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kanté. They didn’t have time to bring in another big name in January, even though they signed some good players. You get the sense that they’re still looking for a marquee signing, and Salah’s name keeps coming up.

Romano also mentioned that MLS clubs could try to lure Salah to the US. He said, “I’m told that there could be more Saudi clubs attentive and keen on Mohamed Salah. Let’s also see from the MLS if some club decided to enter the conversation and sign Mohamed Salah from Liverpool.”

He called it “an interesting summer ahead” for the Egyptian winger. So far, there haven’t been any official offers, so Salah stayed at Liverpool. But this summer? Who knows? Things could change fast.

Adding to the drama, Egyptian journalist Ismael Mahmoud says Al-Qadisiyah, another Saudi club, is likely to go after Salah too. So expect this story to keep growing.

On another front, Liverpool just agreed on a £60 million deal for Rennes defender Jeremy Jacquet, who’ll be joining next season. But apparently, they want even more options at the back. Virgil van Dijk is now 34, Ibrahima Konate’s contract runs out soon, and Joe Gomez can’t seem to stay fit. Arne Slot clearly wants to strengthen his defence.

Now, reports say Liverpool are eyeing Toulouse defender Charlie Cresswell. He moved from Leeds for £3.8 million in the summer of 2024. The Reds are supposedly preparing a bid of over €30 million (about £26 million), hoping that’ll be enough to convince Toulouse to sell.

West Ham tried to sign Cresswell back in January, so they might jump back in, and Tottenham, Chelsea, and Brighton are also watching closely.

Cresswell only played 14 times for Leeds, but he’s racked up 56 appearances for Toulouse, with seven goals and four assists – not bad for a centre-back.

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