Dream centre-back transfer collapses

Liverpool have great news as a dream deal for a centre-back has collapsed.

Right now all the focus when it comes to the club's recruitment is on the defensive department.

Richard Hughes fortified Liverpool's offensive ranks in the summer. He may need to make a few more cosmetic adjustments but ultimately the attack is in a good place, even if they haven't got firing yet.

On the other hand, Liverpool's defensive recruitment was a bit less of a success. The problem was partly that the centre-back market was simply not as good as it is now. There just weren't enough options available to bring in, who would immediately improve the side.

Marc Guehi was among them, and Liverpool came close to signing him but they were thwarted in their attempts in the last-minute of the window.

The centre-back they did sign was Giovanni Leoni, who is an absolute gem. Unfortunately, he picked up an injury during his debut and he won't be available until next season.

On top of the players they did and did not sign, looking at the options left at the club, it's slim pickings for Arne Slot.

Joe Gomez has continuous fitness issues and it's looking extremely likely that his future is away from Anfield.

Virgil van Dijk isn't getting any younger, and it's clear to see that he perhaps shouldn't be playing every single game in order to preserve his body.

However, Liverpool simply don't have that luxury to rest him. There just isn't anyone in the squad capable of coming in for him, like Jarell Quansah was capable of doing last season.

On top of all that, Ibrahima Konate has an expiring contract which ends next summer. In January he is free to talk to other potential candidates, and he's yet to sign a new deal with Liverpool, even though negotiations have been ongoing for over a year now.

Many of us had feared that this would be a déjà vu moment. Real Madrid's interest in Konate has been well-documented. For any player that's a dream transfer so you can't really even begrudge Konate for wanting to go there.

However, The Athletic has now come out with a report claiming that Real Madrid are no longer interested in Konate and they have communicated that to Liverpool as well.

So, that's a transfer that has collapsed. It's good news for Liverpool. It's one less obstacle for Konate to sign a new deal.

Ultimately, though it's not the end of the road. There will be other clubs interested in the Frenchman and until he does come to an agreement on a new contract, there is no point getting our hopes up completely.

But for now, at least it's a positive development. At least we won't lose another player to Real Madrid on a free transfer.

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