Liverpool are at a standstill when it comes to their transfer-market planning.
Owners FSG shelled out over £200million to heavily bolster Arne Slot's squad over the summer, with high-profile additions Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak all arriving at the club.
But it is at the back where woes are beginning to grow, with Ibrahima Konate out of contract next summer and at present, unwilling to sign a new deal at Anfield. Multiple replacements have been touted, and one in particular may take a mammoth signing-on fee to be persuaded to join.
Liverpool target set to cost close to £14m in signing-on fees
With club captain Virgil Van Dijk renewed, attention quickly turned to the future, and thus, new signing Giovanni Leoni was sanctioned. But with the Italian still only 18, it is clear his natural replacement will need to bolster much more top-flight experience.
And with Konate being monitored closely by those at Real Madrid, fears are beginning to creep in as to whether the towering French defender could be the next name to leave for the La Liga giants on a free transfer.
One player who has been linked with a move to the Premier League is Bayern Munich defender Dayot Upamecano. Like his fellow countryman, Konate, he is also seeking renewed terms, with his contract also up in Germany in June.
Talk has therefore circled about a move to Liverpool, but according to BILD, the 26-year-old wants to stay, and both parties are 'close' to an agreement over his new base salary at the Allianz Arena.
The remaining sticking point is that of a signing-on fee that Upamecano and his team are insistent on, with Alphonso Davies said to have received close to €17m when he signed a new deal with the Bundesliga giants.
That fee is something Bayern officials are reportedly not considering offering to Upamecano, which has thrown up an issue in their ongoing talks. Whether the Reds would offer the France international a sizable fee of their own remains to be seen.
In FourFourTwo's view, it seems unlikely that Liverpool would pay even close to the fee suggested for Upamecano, especially given their outlay in the summer for various other players.
There is still a possibility that Konate stays on Merseyside, but a move for the Bayern Munich defender in 2026 does now look unlikely at this stage.
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