Liverpool know when they can finalise Marc Guehi transfer as Ibrahima Konate deadline looms

Ibrahima Konate can sign pre-contract agreements with overseas clubs from January 1 but Liverpool will have to wait if they want to sign Marc Guehi

Liverpool could be forgiven for feeling a sense of Déjà vu as speculation regarding Ibrahima Konate’s Anfield future continues. The France international is now within the final year of his contract and, as things stand, will depart on a Bosman transfer next summer.

Reports in Spain claim that Real Madrid are confident of signing the 26-year-old on a free having already lured the out-of-contract Trent Alexander-Arnold away from his boyhood club this year.

Liverpool were able to pocket £10m from the England international’s departure, receiving £8.4m from the La Liga giants to release the defender from the final month of his contract - in order for him to compete at the FIFA Club World Cup - and saving on a month’s salary in the process.

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The Reds will not be able to enjoy the same liberty with Konate next summer. If they fail to tie him down to a new contract in the forthcoming months, their options will be either sell the Frenchman for a cut-price fee in January or let him fulfil his contract before departing for nothing at the end of the season.

Article 18.3 of FIFA’s regulations for transfers states: “A club intending to conclude a contract with a professional must inform the player’s current club in writing before entering into negotiations with him.

“A professional shall only be free to conclude a contract with another club if his contract with his present club has expired or is due to expire within six months. Any breach of this provision shall be subject to appropriate sanctions.”

Consequently, Real Madrid will be free to hold talks with Konate and sign a pre-contract agreement from January 1, 2026. While an exit is by no means certain at this point, it would not be a surprise if the centre-back joined Alexander-Arnold at the Bernabeu when his Liverpool deal expires.

The Reds are already planning for the future at centre-back regardless of the outcome of contract talks with Konate.

While Virgil van Dijk signed a two-year extension in April, the Liverpool captain will be nearing his 36th birthday when his current terms expire with the Reds inevitably plotting their succession plan.

Jarell Quansah was sold to Bayer Leverkusen in a deal worth up to £35m, but it is already well-documented that Liverpool have a buyback clause in place and have already agreed future contract terms with the centre-back should they move for him in two years’ time.

The highly-rated Giovanni Leoni was signed from Parma in a £26m deal last month, with the 18-year-old touted as a possible successor. But the Italian’s arrival was not the limit of Liverpool’s centre-back ambitions.

They had also looked to sign Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace, agreeing a £35m deal for the England international only for the Eagles to pull the plug late on deadline day after failing to sign a replacement.

Like Konate, Guehi is out of contract next summer and will be available on a Bosman transfer.

While he could be available for a cut-price fee in January, Liverpool are at present unlikely to move for Guehi in the January transfer window given the player will be available on a free next summer.

But should the Reds stick to such a stance, they would have to wait to finalise a pre-contract agreement with the centre-back.

Guehi is reportedly attracting interest from the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Juventus. As is the case with Konate, the defender is free to talk with any overseas club and sign a pre-contract agreement from January 1.

But that is not the case when it comes to out-of-contract players moving to clubs in the same country.

If Liverpool were to sign Guehi on a free transfer, they would instead have to wait until June 1, 2026, to finalise a pre-contract agreement.

That is because domestic transfers are regulated by individual football associations, rather than world governing body FIFA.

Any player looking to move from one English team to another as a free agent can only open talks after entering the final month of their previous contract.

This is to ensure that there is no conflict of interest, with players therefore not facing clubs they have already agreed to join when their contracts expire with such talks instead taking place following the end of each season as a result.

Given Liverpool were close to signing Guehi on deadline day, with the England international even starting to undergo his medical before Crystal Palace pulled the plug, it is not beyond the realms of possibility to think that it is only a matter of time before he completes an eventual move to Anfield.

But they will have to contend with the likes of the aforementioned overseas quintet being free to talk with the defender from January 1.

Guehi wanted to join the Reds this summer and they could easily still sign the defender in 2026. But if they are to land the England international on a free transfer, they will have to wait a little while longer yet to finalise any pre-contract agreement.

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