Liverpool are reportedly closing in on the signing of RB Leipzig centre-half Ibrahima Konate, according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein.
The above report states the deal will cost the Reds around £40 million – the value of the Frenchman’s release clause – should it be completed.
While many fans have been getting excited at the prospect of signing a young player seemingly destined for greatness, others are wondering what it could mean for Liverpool’s current crop.
Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Joel Matip, Nat Phillips, Ozan Kabak and Ben Davies are Jurgen Klopp’s senior central defenders, as of right now – add Konate into the mix and we’d have to question how everyone would get enough game-time.
MORE: (Video) Konate’s best bits as LFC close in on €40m Leipzig star – big tackles & passes
That being said, Kabak is signed on a six-month loan deal, while Davies is yet to make his debut three months after arriving.
So what would Konate’s signing mean for them? It could in fact mean very little, in the grand scheme of things.
The Reds have an option – not an obligation – to make Kabak’s transfer permanent in June, so his future at Anfield is hardly nailed-down anyway.
But let’s say Kabak’s move is made permanent and Konate is brought in (and this is where we get a little creative with our opinion), we’d expect two of Matip, Phillips and Davies to leave.
In that scenario, the Reds’ defensive options would be Kabak, Konate, van Dijk, Gomez and probably Phillips. Again, that’s just an opinion – but it’s certainly an option, if rumours are to be believed.