Ibou Konate is about to take a MASSIVE risk

Ibrahima Konate is taking a massive risk this summer. It's one that will set the course for his career.

Ibrahima Konate enters the final year of his Liverpool contract this summer. It promises to be a headache for the Reds, who hope to renew his deal.

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This, however, is a familiar story. Liverpool battled contract renewals for the entirety of last season as Virgil van Dijk, Mo Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold all threatened to leave on free transfers.

Ultimately, one of them did. The one seen as the least-likely to leave, too.

Liverpool do not want the same situation with Konate but they're powerless to avoid it. The Frenchman doesn't have to renew his contract, nor does he have to accept a move away this summer.

He can head into that final season knowing he's able to depart wherever he wants. But he's taking an enormous risk with it.

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Ibrahima Konate's enormous risk

Konate is apparently happy to renew his Liverpool contract. It's just he reportedly wants a gigantic payrise to do so.

The Times are among those claiming his demands are in excess of £200k per week. In total, he wants roughly two-and-a-half times his current salary.

It increasingly appears that if Liverpool don't give him that, Konate will leave for free in a year. Only, we think that's a bigger risk than people realise.

Konate was magnificent last season and firmly looked like one of the best defenders on the planet. That's why Real Madrid are reportedly waiting for him on a free transfer.

However, last season was actually an anomaly for Konate. It's by far the best season of his Liverpool career.

Let's not forget, after all, that the Frenchman was behind Jarell Quansah in the pecking order when the season kicked off. He was behind him for the final months under Jurgen Klopp, too.

We're essentially talking one season of truly elite form but it goes even deeper than that.

Konate started 30 Premier League fixtures last season. That's the most he's started across a campaign by a wide margin - going back the previous three campaigns, you get 17 starts, 17 starts, 11 starts.

His total minutes tally to around 28.4 full matches. Again, that's by far the most of his Liverpool career (17.5, 17.2 and 11, if you were wondering).

Konate is not a player who's reliably available. In his entire Liverpool spell, Virgil van Dijk has never dropped below 31 matches of tallied minutes, expect for the season he missed all but five games with a knee injury.

William Saliba, seen by many as Konate's rival for both country and a potential move to Real Madrid, played every single minute of the 2023/24 season. He followed that with 33.8 90s last season.

Konate is backing himself and no one can blame him for doing so. He may well repeat his form and availability next season, proving he's worth the massive pay rise and a move to wherever he wants.

But all signs suggest he's not going to do that. Last season is a true anomaly in his time at Liverpool and ultimately, that's why the Reds won't pay him the massive wages.

If it was indeed an anomaly and Konate regresses back to where he had been in the upcoming campaign, Liverpool's offer will drop - it may even disappear entirely. There will be no Real Madrid offer, either. None from Paris Saint-Germain.

Again, we don't blame Konate for backing himself whatsoever. He probably should back himself to repeat his form and become a star player. If he's right, he'll earn an incredible amount at the club of his choosing.

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But he's taking an enormous risk here and it's one that really could backfire spectacularly. Return to his previous form or availability and he's back to square one.