Ibrahima Konate set to leave Liverpool on a free transfer

BBC Sport understands talks have stalled and Konate will become the latest player to leave the club on a free this summer, following Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah.

Last year, defender Trent Alexander-Arnold joined Real Madrid a month before his contract expired after the Spanish club paid for his early release to play in the Club World Cup.

While captain Virgil van Dijk’s current contract expires next summer, the club failed to sign Marc Guehi last September and the Englishman joined Manchester City in January.

Liverpool are confident they have sufficient depth at centre-half after signing Giovanni Leoni last summer and signing £60m Jeremy Jacquet, 20, this summer.

However, this leaves 34-year-old Van Dijk as the only experienced centre-back.

Frenchman Jacquet, who will turn 21 in July, played 21 matches for Rennes last season, but missed the last four months due to a shoulder injury.

Leoni, 19, was sidelined for a year after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in September, a month after joining the Reds from Parma for £26 million plus add-ons.

There is a belief at Liverpool that rather than accepting an expensive replacement for Konate, other areas such as replacing Mohamed Salah and filling the gap after Hugo Ekitike’s injury are priorities.