In the last weeks of their transfer window, Liverpool and Saudi teams are still linked, and Ibrahima Konate is allegedly refusing to move.
This summer window has seen a new threat emerge for Europe’s elite clubs, with the wealth of the Saudi Pro League shifting the landscape.
Because of that, Fabinho and Jordan Henderson unexpectedly left Liverpool, and Roberto Firmino left on a free transfer for the Middle East.
In July, a Luis Diaz approach was flatly rejected, and more recently, Joe Gomez and Mohamed Salah’s futures have been the subject of rumors.
Al-Ittihad, a team that spent £40 million on Fabinho and already has Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante in their lineup, has shown interest in Salah and Gomez.
Journalist Fabrice Hawkins of RMC Sport claims that the same team has “sounded out” Konate on a prospective transfer to Jeddah.
The Frenchman appears to be on their list of potential center-backs, since OGC Nice’s Jean-Clair Todibo reportedly declined a “big” offer.
Hawkins noted that Konate turned down the opportunity to relocate to Saudi Arabia, saying that Konate “feels good at Liverpool where he wants to achieve his goals.”
Hawkins, though, also asserts that Al-Ittihad “seem to have accelerated” their chase of Gomez in his piece for RMC Sport.
While the salaries offered in the Saudi Pro League are definitely alluring to players, the league’s prestige and level of competition are significantly lower than those of the Premier League.
That makes Konate’s age of 24, and the possibility of joining a club like Al-Ittihad, challenging, but not impossible.
The 21-year-old Spanish midfielder Gabri Veiga, who Liverpool had their eye on early in the summer, is still somewhat of an unknown.
It goes without saying that the effects of any center-back leaving Anfield at this point in the transfer window would need to be taken into account.
While the window will close for Premier League clubs at 11 p.m. on Friday, the deadline has been extended in Saudi Arabia until September 7.
For instance, if Gomez or Konate left, a replacement would be required, making it unlikely that Liverpool would accept a bid for either player.
Despite appeals for the team to do so, there is currently no sign that they will strengthen their defense any further. Instead, another midfielder is more likely to join this week.
