Ibrahima Konate drama worsens Liverpool's contract NIGHTMARE

Liverpool are in a contract saga of their own making.

Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil Van Dijk are all after new deals at the same time and inevitably it seems one will leave.

READ MORE: Mo Salah responds to CONTROVERSIAL Liverpool contract offer

For the time being, it seems as though the tension off the pitch has yet to turn into a distraction on the pitch, but the circumstances for a team in a title race are far from ideal.

The club's executives will be working tirelessly to eventually put the saga to an end, with Liverpool finishing the season with an acceptable resolution found to all three situations, regardless of whether all three players stay or not.

However, even then, the recruitment team is far from out of the woods as further issues are waiting on the horizon for the Reds and the implications of what happens this season could be monumental in deciding the events of next season.

Konate: The thorn in Liverpool's side

It has been seven transfer windows since Konate was brought to Liverpool and the club has yet to make another defensive purchase in that time.

Jarrell Quansah has been brought up from the academy, but his future as part of the Reds' first-choice centre-back pairing is yet to be decided, as Arne Slot feels he still needs to develop - although Liverpool have tied him down for the next few years with a new contract that was signed earlier this season.

However, Konate - Liverpool's best defender behind Van Dijk, who might leave - is set to be out of contract in 2026, which presents an inherent problem.

His ability is unquestionable. He was outstanding against Ipswich Town on Saturday, winning 12 of his 14 duels. A true wall in defence.

And if Van Dijk were to leave as a free agent this summer, Konate would undoubtedly be the player Slot would look to as a possible replacement captain, marshalling the troops ahead of him from the centre of the defence.

At just 25 years old, he is in the prime of his career, he is heavily favoured by the French national team set-up and countless clubs would love to have him play for them.

But despite being offered a new contract, he said no because he wants to wait until the current contract saga has come to an end - looking to evaluate whether Liverpool is still an attractive club to play for if the team's three main players end up moving on.

Of course, this is a sensible approach from the Frenchman and no one could begrudge him from assessing his options, but the longer he leaves his decision, the greater the chance that Liverpool could end up losing him as well.

READ MORE: Liverpool lining up club legend’s son to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold

PSG linger around Konate's uncertain future

Konate grew up in Paris as a fan of the city's main club and an approach from the French giants is more than certain to unnerve him.

And Anfield Watch exclusively revealed earlier this week that any move PSG might make for him is likely to include offering him the chance to lead the team as the club's captain - an opportunity that is not currently available for him at Liverpool.

On the basis that he will have one year left on his deal, the interest in Konate is set to be rife across Europe and Liverpool know it. Which is exactly why they are attempting to extend his deal mid-way through the season.

But as a result of allowing one contract saga to hand over the club's head, they have enticed Konate to reconsider where he might want to be playing his football going forward and unless a significant breakthrough is made in the coming months, Liverpool are set to have one hell of a headache this summer.

The club already needs to look at a left-back, a centre-back, a defensive midfielder, a striker, potentially another centre-back, potentially a right-back, potentially a left-winger and potentially a right-winger, nevermind adding another centre-back into the mix. That would be an untenable situation.

So as complex as the current problem is for the club to solve, it could get significantly worse if the right outcomes aren't reached.

READ MORE: Liverpool wonderkid is coming to join Arne Slot's first team, and he's special