Ibrahima Konate 'close to crying' as he drops future hint

Liverpool find themselves in a precarious position with a few different players this summer, not least with Ibrahima Konate - whose contract is up at the end of next season.

A sigh of relief was taken when Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk agreed to extend their contracts until 2027, but the futures of many other Liverpool players are still up in the air.

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Trent Alexander-Arnold is giving more mixed signals than a broken traffic light. All the reports are suggesting that his move to Real Madrid is 99% done, but we are still getting hints that he might be staying.

For example, he celebrated as wildly as it gets after scoring the winner against Leicester last week and if was front and centre of the title celebrations on Sunday when Liverpool put themselves mathematically out of reach of Arsenal with a win over Tottenham.

Meanwhile, with Konate we're still unsure.

Anfield Watch understands that PSG are heavily interested in bringing the Frenchman back to his country's capital, but previous reports about him delaying contract negotiations were because he didn't know what Salah and Van Dijk's futures would be. Now he knows.

As such, while we might already know where Trent's head is at, it was particularly fascinating to hear about how Konate dealt with the title celebrations for any hints that he might want to stay.

A look inside the mind of Liverpool's premier centre-back

Once the final whistle blew on Sunday, the players were finally allowed an opportunity to think about the title race and what they had just achieved by putting themselves 15 points clear with four games to play.

After every game up until then, the mantra was 'we're going to take things game by game', but for once they could embrace with the crowd and consider the magnitude of their success.

Winning a Premier League title at Anfield, with four games to go and before the month of May even had time to begin. Arne Slot, etching himself into the club's folklore after just one season in charge.

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Many songs and chants were sung that evening, alongside flares being set off, non-alcoholic sparkling wine being sprayed around and countless photos being taken to immortalise the memory of such a historic day.

According to The Athletic, the players stayed at Anfield until around 3am, with the fans leaving the seats at around 8pm before lingering outside the stadium until darkness eventually fell.

In and of itself, the notion of leaving a winning team is mind-boggling. It's why Trent's decision has been so controversially received. But Konate is in exactly the same boat. Why would you leave now?

As such, it was what happened after the fans had left what proved most interesting. When he finally had a moment of silence alone to himself, Konate's emotions finally got the better of him.

Speaking to the club's website, he said: "After the game I walked into the stadium and just sat in the stands to feel like a fan and I don't have words to describe what I felt.

"I said to my brother, 'I want to see how it is to sit in the stand if I watch a game,' and I tried to act like a fan, but the stadium was empty. I just wanted to enjoy the moment on my own.

"We won it with 60,000 fans and us on the pitch. I just wanted to feel something different. I was close to crying. It's crazy, unbelievable, and we have to really enjoy it."

While this might not tell us much, his experience at Anfield that night must have been incredibly profound for it to bring him to tears. Perhaps a substantial bond between the club and himself has developed. Who knows?

But as mentioned earlier, it can be really difficult to leave something that you're emotionally attached to, which is exactly why Trent has declined to clarify his contract status until the season ends.

A move to Paris is going to be something on Konate's mind, but it seems as though Liverpool has already started to feel like home, and when you're in a successful team that is potentially on the crest of a wave that could bring more success, then any decision you make is going to be difficult to reach.

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If the Reds want a transfer fee for him, then this summer is the only chance we'll have, but I don't think a prolonged stay on Merseyside could be anymore enticing a project than it is right now.