Real Madrid are still not finished as far as defensive recruitment goes this summer and have reportedly turned their attention back to the Premier League.
Los Blancos have already captured Trent Alexander-Arnold from Liverpool and Dean Huijsen from Bournemouth, both of whom have already appeared for the Spanish giants in the Club World Cup.
But Xabi Alonso’s side crashed out of the Stateside competition in a damaging 4-0 defeat at the hands of reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain.
Real Madrid could inflict further defensive damage on Liverpool
Standards in the Spanish capital are demanding and high-profile defeats like the one inflicted by Les Parisiens are not taken lightly.
Madrid are already back out into the market to look for ways to bolster their defensive ranks and, unfortunately for Liverpool, they’re turning their heads back to Merseyside.
Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate has been widely linked with a move to Madrid, a club Fichajes say the Frenchman is keen to join.
However, according to the Spanish outlet, the Reds are not giving in without a fight, setting the price tag at €50m for the 26-year-old, a figure thought to be too high for Los Blancos.
Matters are complicated further by Konate’s contract at Anfield running out next summer, and AS are reporting that he is unwilling to enter fresh negotiations with the Reds.
With Madrid reportedly ready to wait to nab the centre-back on a free in 12 months, the Merseysiders may see their hand forced for fear of an Alexander-Arnold repeat on the horizon.
In FourFourTwo’s opinion, although Liverpool are undoubtedly still feeling stung by the Alexander-Arnold saga, it feels worth the gamble to keep Konate at Anfield for another season.
He has built a strong partnership with Virgil van Dijk and, unless the Reds have any burning replacement targets at the forefront of their mind, they will want to avoid splitting the pair up.
A year is a long time in football; Los Blancos probably didn’t bank on Huijsen as their next big defensive signing this time 12 months ago, when he was a £12.8m prospect signing for the Cherries.
Just because Madrid say they will wait a year doesn’t mean they won’t have their head turned by other targets in the meantime; the Reds need to hold out for an acceptable price, or gamble on managing to find a way to keep Konate over the coming months.
Konate is valued at €60m, according to Transfermarkt.
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