Chelsea are rumored to be making a surprise move for Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate.
The 26-year-old is out of contract at the end of this season but has not signed a contract extension with the Premier League champions. Naturally, he has multiple clubs involved.
Former Premier League scout Mick Brown said Chelsea wanted to sign the player but never gave up their pursuit of the France international. They believe he has made several high-profile errors this season and cannot be trusted. It will be interesting to see whether Chelsea achieve their new goal.
It’s no secret that they need to improve defensively. They look mediocre at the back and won’t qualify for the Champions League with a leaky defense.
Meanwhile, Liverpool are still hoping to agree a new deal with the defender. He has been an important player for them since he joined the club. Although he has struggled this season, he is still a quality defender and could be back to his best soon.
“A lot of teams are looking at Konate,” Brown told Football Insider.
“Chelsea were one of them, but the general feeling is that if he’s making mistakes at the back of Liverpool, they’re going to make the same mistakes.
“They want someone more solid and reliable and maybe some younger options as well.
“Konate has made too many fatal mistakes playing in a very good Liverpool team, so things could be even worse in a less solid team.
“So for a team like Chelsea who are trying to grow and perhaps establish themselves as title contenders, I don’t think he’s what they need.
“It’s unclear what that will do with Konate because we expect them to pull him out of this game, because he hasn’t benefited from anything so far this season.”
It will be interesting to see what decisions the France international makes in the coming weeks. He was now eligible to sign a pre-contract agreement with a foreign club if he wanted to move as a free agent.
