Liverpool star Ibrahima Konate was on Arsenal shortlist after Man Utd ‘opened talks’

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Ibrahima Konate’s £36million move to Liverpool was a long time in the making but the former RB Leipzig centre-half was a name on the lips of a whole host of other English clubs before he finally sealed his transfer to Anfield. Despite being just 22 years old, Konate remains a name that has seemingly been around for a considerable amount of time.

That’s because he was signed by Leipzig from Sochaux at 18 and needed no time to settle into his new surroundings in Germany.

Konate was immediately thrust into the first-team picture, forming an established all-French partnership at the heart of defence with Dayot Upamecano.

It wasn’t long before a host of Premier League clubs started to take note of his performances in the Bundesliga, where he continued to catch the eye under Ralph Hasenhuttl.

Just a matter of months before his move to Liverpool, German newspaper Bild confirmed he was one of two RB Leipzig players on Arsenal’s transfer shortlist.

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In November 2020, Bild claimed the Gunners were preparing potential swoops for both Konate and attacking midfielder Christopher Nkunku, who recently scored a Champions League hat-trick against Manchester City.

By this point, Arsenal were not alone in their interest and five months prior to the report, Le10 Sport in France claimed Manchester United had reached out to Konate’s agent to discuss his availability.

Le10 stated that Konate was one of several players the Red Devils were lining up that summer alongside Jadon Sancho and the idea was to partner the RB Leipzig man with Harry Maguire in defence.

United never made their move though and instead decided to persist with Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly before landing Raphael Varane from Real Madrid this summer.

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Liverpool eventually left Arsenal behind in the race for Konate, as the Gunners turned attentions to £50m man Ben White.

The Athletic’s David Ornstein exclusively broke the news that the Reds had started negotiations behind the scenes for the defender back in March earlier this year before Konate would eventually complete his move in May.

His reading of the game, strength and positional awareness has already seen him impress under Jurgen Klopp, despite a lack of opportunities.

Konate has kept consecutive clean sheets in his last two outings for the Reds, who successfully brushed aside both Crystal Palace and Norwich in recent days.

Liverpool are stacked with options at centre-back but Konate is now going the right way about moving up the pecking order, having showcased his quality whenever he’s been called upon.

Assistant manager Pep Ljinders has already suggested that Konate could follow in the footsteps of Virgil van Dijk by bucking the trend and immediately adapting to the demands of Klopp’s style, when others have required time to adjust.

“Robbo said to him [Konate] ‘we all needed time to adjust to the style’,” Ljinders said earlier this week.

“Virgil is probably one of the only ones to come and settle in straight away.

“Ibrahima is a beast physically. He can catch so many players. He’s settling in well. He’s still so young. It was great for him to get his debut and move on.”

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