Liverpool FORCED into drastic transfer after massive contract news

The Reds' defensive situation has been somewhat of a ticking time bomb so far this season.

Liverpool's performances have been massively down on everyone's expectations of Virgil Van Dijk's unit and the underlying issues have been quite troubling to analyse as well. It's not a pretty situation.

The captain is still more than capable of playing to a really high level, but his partner Ibrahima Konate is quite hit and miss with his efforts right now. In addition, young starlet Giovanni Leoni's involvement this season was halted just 81 minutes into his Liverpool career, tearing his ACL in the Carabao Cup.

Joe Gomez is now the only senior centre-back available to cover, and he could really be used at right-back, given how often Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley have been getting injured. Dominik Szoboszlai has had to cover at times, and the left-back situation isn't much better either to be honest.

But now, we've got reason to believe that Liverpool will have to make a drastic transfer call in January, because one of the mainstays in Arne Slot's side has brought an end to his contract talks.

Konate REJECTS new Liverpool offer

It's been known for a long time that Konate hasn't been happy with Liverpool contract offers, which has led to this prolonged saga. Presumably the Reds' valuation doesn't reflect the player's feelings.

He is Liverpool's most reliable partner for Van Dijk and we'd be incredibly lost without his services.

But there has always been questions about his ability to perform the Van Dijk role. He isn't as reliable as the Dutchman, his injury record is concerning and he isn't a particularly vocal member of the team.

Whether the Frenchman has what it takes to become the player Arne Slot and Liverpool need him to be when Van Dijk retires is yet to be decided. On recent evidence, the club's hesitancy feels valid.

But talks have been going on for nearly 12 months now, and we're none the wiser to what's going on.

Although, a recent report from Football Insider, backed up by Defensa Central, suggests that talks are on the verge of collapse, following the latest offer being 'rejected'. This is while Real Madrid have divulged their 'concrete' interest in signing him on a free transfer, which might be in his thinking.

If the talks were to fully collapse, meaning it was to become impossible for Liverpool to change his mind, then the club's approach to the transfer market in January will have to shift quite substantially.

Getting a new defender as soon as possible, with the hope that Konate might extend his deal, is a must, because you can't expect to compete for trophies with just three centre-backs for the season.

But going down to three players in the summer, with one attempting to recover from an ACL tear, is an extremely vulnerable position to put yourself in. The price for any of the Reds' targets would be marked up significantly and buying two new defenders in the same window is asking for trouble.

In order to hit the ground running next season, the Reds would need to have already embedded someone into the squad, so that any further new additions have time to adjust. Liverpool are going to want to keep hold of Konate until the end of the season, so bringing on new centre-half in to stabilise things would make sense. He could learn from the Frenchman before he departs in the summer.

Options for such a signing include paying to have Marc Guehi six months early by convincing Crystal Palace to let him go for a fee they otherwise would be getting, convincing Bayern Munich to let Dayot Upamecano to leave six months early for a fee, although the Germans are imperious outfit right now, and Borussia Dortmund's captain Nico Schlotterbeck, who's also currently in talks over his future.

The Englishman is going to be a hard sell, knowing that the Eagles are competing in their first ever European campaign, so they'll be incredibly reluctant. Frenchman Upamecano is on an extraordinary wage package, which he is hoping to increase, and rumours surrounding the German claim that Dortmund are willing to risk losing him for free in 2027 to boost their hopes of renewing his deal.

As such, Liverpool will be charged with doing something drastic, if the news surrounding Konate is true. Of course, there will likely be other targets on the Reds' recruitment shortlist, so it's not all doom and gloom, but it's hard to see this latest update as anything other than a massive blow.

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