Significant Ibou Konate claim emerges from France as target date set for contract decision

Reports from France have claimed that Ibrahima Konate may now be closer than ever to agreeing a new contract at Liverpool.

The 26-year-old’s future has been the subject of considerable speculation throughout the season, with the defender having less than three months remaining on his current deal, and a decision will need to be made one way or the other within the next few weeks.

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Konate closer than ever to signing new Liverpool contract

According to L’Equipe on Monday morning, the Frenchman has been in talks with Anfield chiefs regarding his contract situation for the past 18 months, with an initial offer from the club deemed to be ‘very insufficient’.

Discussions had duly been paused before intensifying more recently, and it’s now claimed that Konate and Liverpool have ‘never been so close to an agreement’, with a renewal being deemed the likeliest scenario.

There are still some details to be settled between the relevant parties, and the player is reportedly keen for his future to be resolved before heading to the World Cup in two months’ time.

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Could a contract resolution help to settle Konate on the pitch?

Much like his team in general, it’s been a difficult season for the 26-year-old on the pitch – James Pearce has bemoaned some ‘rash and nervy‘ performances from him – and he’s also had to deal with the personal grief of his father’s death in January.

He had another tough day at the office in the humiliating defeat to Manchester City on Saturday, being beaten all too easily in the air for Erling Haaland’s second goal, and Liverpool need the absolute best version of him for the daunting clash against Paris Saint-Germain this week.

At least there finally appears to be a firm indication towards a decision being made on Konate’s future, and for all the problems that he’s had in recent months, he remains an important player for the Reds at a time when they’re anything but overflowing with centre-back depth.

Hopefully it won’t be much longer before his contract situation is resolved and he can park any uncertainty about his off-field affairs, thus freeing him up to concentrate solely on performing on the pitch like we know he can from previous campaigns.

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