“Isn’t Over The Line Yet.” – Paul Gorst On New Deal For Liverpool ‘Monster’ | OneFootball

By James Cranford

It was a magnificent seven wins from seven for Liverpool in the Champions League earlier this week as the Reds overcame Lille 2-1 at Anfield. The result ensures a top-two finish in the competition’s league phase, meaning the club will now face a team ranked 15th to 18th in the last 16.

Ibrahima Konaté caused a stir in the pre-match press conference, revealing that he ‘rushed’ his return to first-team action due to the continued absence of central defensive colleague Joe Gomez. Given Ibou’s chequered injury history, alarm bells began to ring as he divulged that he is having to take painkillers in order to make the first XI.

Konaté’s eye-catching comments did not end there, however, as the 25-year-old admitted he has entered into contract negotiations with Liverpool. His current deal expires in June 2026, showing that the LFC hierarchy are desperate to avoid a repeat of the ongoing sagas involving Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

On the latest episode of our Journo Insight show, we asked the Liverpool Echo’s LFC correspondent Paul Gorst for his thoughts on Ibou Konaté.

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Paul said: “Yeah, it was a brilliant performance [in the press conference] from Konaté, to be fair… When he’d finished, someone said, ‘Can we have him every week?!’

“I imagine there were people at Liverpool who were wincing a bit as he was reeling off all these details about playing with painkillers and playing through the pain barrier, just cracking on with it.

“I think it speaks to the character that he is – that Joe Gomez was injured and Manchester United were up next, and he thought, ‘Can’t let the team down here, got to declare myself fit for this one.’

“He got pressed a little bit further on have you been offered a contract and he just said: ‘Yes.’

“There’s been a few mistakes made in Salah, Trent, and Van Dijk’s situation, and a lot of that comes from the void of the last couple of years when there was no sporting director in place.

“Konaté isn’t over the line yet, but it looks as though they are looking to just make sure they’re not in the same situation again 18 months down the line where you’ve got major players whose futures are up for question.

“Liverpool have more pressing concerns with the aforementioned three that we’ve spoken about for months… so not too sure how close it’ll be.

“I think his wry answer on Monday suggested that signing it is a different prospect to being offered it, and there might be some negotiations to be had there first.”

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Redmen Reacts

With Ibrahima Konaté – dubbed a ‘monster’ by Martin Mosnier in November – now entering the peak years of his career, it is heartening to learn that Liverpool are looking to extend his stay and avoid the unnecessary worry currently surrounding his captain and central defensive partner Virgil van Dijk. Konaté agreed that the pair are the best in Europe this season, and the signs are there that the Frenchman could take on the mantle of leader and talisman from Van Dijk as he approaches the twilight of his career. Ibou’s comments regarding playing through pain were concerning given his previous bad luck with injuries, but it is widely accepted that is a common occurrence for top athletes across many sports. Hopefully, he can work towards peak fitness over the coming weeks and replicate his outstanding early-season form. With four trophies on the line, Liverpool will certainly be banking on him to do so.