RB Leipzig reportedly phoned Liverpool to discuss their intentions to sign Ibrahima Konate but the Reds have now informed them that they won’t be pursuing the transfer. It was recently claimed that Liverpool were in advanced negotiations for the Frenchman and looked set to trigger his £34million release clause.
“I woke up, I saw my phone ringing all over the place,” Konate told L’Equipe, in the wake of the reports. “I just wanted to tell them, ‘Hey, I played yesterday, I’m tired, leave me alone’.
“Frankly, I don’t even look at this. We can’t focus on that, there are the Euros and then my return to the club. You have to focus on that and not on the external things.”
Following official communication between the two clubs, it now appears that Liverpool’s interest has been exaggerated.
According to German outlet Bild, Leipzig phoned Liverpool to get to the bottom of the rumours after it was reported that they were closing in on the signing of Konate.
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The Reds are already well-stocked at the back, particularly once Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip return from injury.
Nat Phillips and Fabinho have both provided cover admirably, while Ben Davies is yet to feature for the first team.
Although Liverpool are not thinking about a move for Konate as of yet, that could still change in the future.
The reports appear to gather pace some two weeks ago, with RMC Sport even claiming that Konate had undergone part of his medical in France.
Jurgen Klopp will remain cautious of his defensive options given how quickly his side were reduced to bare bones earlier this season.
It remains unclear how much the Reds will have to spend this summer and their budget could yet hinge on Champions League qualification.
They are now within two points of the top-four following Saturday’s 3-0 win at Arsenal.
However, their hopes of winning the Champions League for the seventh time were dealt a major body blow in Spain last night as they went down 3-1 in the first-leg to Real Madrid.
