Richard Hughes faces AGONISING decision over £140,000 first-team star

Liverpool have a lot of difficult decisions to make this summer as the club attempts to adopt a more cutthroat approach to the transfer market.

After years of playing nice and giving players plenty of rope to succeed, the time has come where a more brutal assessment of the squad is necessary to ensure the team can challenge for trophies this season.

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The Premier League title is firmly in sight but a number of players have sufficiently demonstrated that they are unable to play at the level that Liverpool demands of them.

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However, one of the other challenges that the club faces this summer is keeping hold of the players that are earmarked for an extended stay on Merseyside.

Mohamed Salah and Virgil Van Dijk have already committed the next few years of their futures to Liverpool, but one other star is continuing to hold out in negotiations and rival clubs are ready to pounce.

Real Madrid are 'very interested' in signing Konate

Ibrahima Konate has been Van Dijk's go-to centre-back partner for the last few years. The Frenchman is an absolute wall in defence, it's often quite freakish how good he can be at times.

But his position at the club is quite precarious. His contract runs out in 2026 and so this summer is the last opportunity that Liverpool have to sell him for cash, although the ideal scenario involves the 25-year-old signing a new contract and his future becoming a total non-issue.

It was previously reported that he was holding out on an extension because he wanted to see what happened with Van Dijk and Salah's contracts, so his should now be a formality, shouldn't it?

Well, no. Anfield Watch is already aware of interest from PSG coming in for the Parisian-born defender and the prospect of returning to his home city is one that Liverpool simply cannot match.

Furthermore, reports from Football Insider are now suggesting that Real Madrid are monitoring the situation. As with most Liverpool players, Los Blancos are never afraid to try and tempt them away.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is already considered all-but-confirmed to be joining the 13-time Champions League winners, and Konate might have ambitions of following in the Scouser's footsteps.

Unless Liverpool decide to be bold and sell him this summer, the club will have 14 months to agree a contract extension with Konate, although he would go for free if no resolution can be found.

However, a pay rise will likely be required to convince him to stay, and that will probably come in the form of upgrading his £140,000 a week to £200,000 a week.

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It is clear that Konate is one of the best around, and he deserves to be paid accordingly. But we might still be a far way out from learning with full extent of the Frenchman's intentions and how they fit in with Liverpool's, as the Reds have already had to juggle the finances twice in the last few weeks.

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