Michael Edwards steps up Liverpool talks to sign defender

Even though the transfer window is closed until it opens again in January, the Reds are attempting to sign a defender and Michael Edwards is being charged with stepping up talks to make it happen.

Ordinarily, the club's sporting director Richard Hughes would be in charge of such a negotiation, but instead, FSG's Chief Executive of Football is going to be taking the reins given the stakes involved.

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The operation is specifically regarding a new contract for French centre-back Ibrahima Konate as his current deal is set to expire once the current season comes to an end, prior to the World Cup starting.

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Negotiations over his future have been taking place since November 2024 and we're yet to receive any sort of confirmation over his intentions. Doubts over his commitment must now be eliminated.

Liverpool turn up the heat on Konate

According to Chris Bascombe of The Telegraph, the Reds are desperately trying to learn their lesson from the carnage that ensued last season prior to the Premier League title celebrations in May.

Mohamed Salah and Virgil Van Dijk were staring down the barrel of leaving for free, only for a last minute negotiation to prove fruitful, giving them the terms they required to extend their contracts.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, however, was not as open to Liverpool's proposals, opting instead to ignore any offers and join Real Madrid in the summer for nothing, a decision that has aggravated fans over the last few months - something many will never be able to forget, his legacy is forever tarnished.

In reference to last year's situation, the report says: "[It is claimed that] throughout the process, there was a common observation: "This would never have reached this stage on Michael Edwards' watch.""

As such, we're now about to witness how FSG's Chief Executive deals with a contract stand-off.

Bascombe's understanding of the situation is that: "The dialogue [with Konate] has been ongoing, and a new contract has been ready to sign for a while. Liverpool do not want to wait another 10 months for a resolution, but are pragmatic about an outcome."

The plan involved here essentially encompasses Marc Guehi and an ultimatum that his transfer decision inadvertently puts on Konate's head. The Englishman didn't sign for us this summer and it's been decided that he will only join on a free transfer in the summer, as there is a reluctance to offer Crystal Palace any money at all for him, since they rejected the club's reasonable £35m bid.

As such, you won't see any approaches for the Frenchman being considered in January either, because even with four defenders now, you feel Arne Slot's squad is a little short. Liverpool allowing themselves to then spend the second half of the season with three centre-halves would be idiotic.

So the ultimatum appears to be this; sign a new deal and perhaps a release clause is inserted in case he's interest in playing abroad in the future, or he leaves on a free at the end of the season, when the summer transfer window opens again, to allow time for sufficient replacements to be arranged.

The belief that Edwards wouldn't have allowed Salah, Van Dijk or Alexander-Arnold's contract sagas to roll on as long as they did should give fans optimism that we'll have a resolution to Konate's sooner rather than later, whether it's a positive or negative update. At least we'll then have clarity.

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