Arne Slot insists he wants ‘vital’ Ibrahima Konaté to sign new Liverpool deal

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has underlined Ibrahima Konaté’s importance to the club and confirmed that negotiations are ongoing to persuade the centre-back to extend a contract that expires in June. The 26-year-old France international, who recently returned from compassionate leave following the death of his father, has been linked with a potential free transfer to Real Madrid.

Slot praised Konaté’s recent performances, placing him on the same level as captain Virgil van Dijk. “It’s just as good from him as from Virgil,” Slot said. “Ibou has had a very good spell recently. He had a lot of good games earlier in the season but then he was also part of the reason why we conceded a goal. His general performances were good but then a small mistake he made immediately led to a goal and so he was judged differently. But he is having a very good partnership with Virgil since I’ve been here and, just like Virgil, he has always been fit. Touch wood. These two are vital for us, not only because of the quality they have but because of the lack of options we have behind.”

Liverpool have pursued fresh terms with Konaté for more than a year without reaching an agreement, yet Slot insists the club have not abandoned hope. “We are in talks with him so that tells you what we want,” he said. “It’s clear we would like him to stay but negotiations are ongoing so let’s see where that ends. We wouldn’t be in negotiations if we didn’t want him to stay.”

Van Dijk, who scored the decisive goal in Wednesday’s victory at Sunderland, has publicly urged the club to secure Konaté’s future, highlighting the defensive partnership that has become central to Slot’s plans. Although Liverpool have already begun reinforcing the heart of defence with the acquisitions of Giovanni Leoni and Jérémy Jacquet for initial fees of £26 million and £55 million respectively, Slot views retaining Konaté as equally critical.

Away from the defensive discussion, Slot also addressed Mohamed Salah’s subdued goal return since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations. The Egyptian has scored only once in that period, although his assists and pressing metrics have improved. Slot attributed the dip to multiple factors, including heightened opposition attention and the rotating cast of right-backs behind him, and asked for judgment to be reserved until the season’s end.