Liverpool make contact with contract rebel as £50m deal lined up

Liverpool may soon need to take drastic action at centre-back.

Not only is the contract of Ibrahima Konate expiring at the end of the season but the Frenchman’s form genuinely brings the prospect of the club buying a replacement regardless of his contract situation into focus.

Konate, 26, was culpable once again over the weekend in the draw against Leeds at Elland Road - with head coach Arne Slot admitting that he’d been at the crime scene a little too often this season.

Right now Liverpool don’t have a lot of options that they can bring in order to get Konate out of the firing line.

Virgil van Dijk will of course start every game beside the French international while Joe Gomez has been used from the start at right-back more frequently.

Liverpool identify Nico Schlotterbeck

Van Dijk and Gomez meanwhile are due to leave the club in 2027 when their contracts expire so long-term there is an uncertain picture developing.

Giovanni Leoni will be among the first-team options when he returns from injury but the Premier League champions need an outstanding prime talent to come in and hit the ground running.

We could see a move for Nico Schlotterbeck in 2026 according to a new report in TEAMtalk which claims talks have begun with the German international over a potential deal.

Schlotterbeck, 26, has been sensational since leaving Freiburg for Borussia Dortmund back in 2022 - appearing in last season’s German footballers’ team of the year.

Liverpool make contact with Schlotterbeck

He is a 23-cap German international too - and is set to spark a bidding war for his signature next summer.

That’s because the left-footer is out of contract in 2027 and fears in Dortmund are growing that their star defender won’t sign a new deal.

“Contact has been made with Liverpool, who have been on his trail for more than 12 months,” the report reads before adding the player could move for £50m.

Schlotterbeck - given his status as a left-sided defender - would likely replace Van Dijk in the long term.

But Liverpool’s need for centre-backs must be addressed in the next couple of windows following a high-profile transfer miss for Marc Guehi last summer.

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