rewrite this title Hughes lining up Liverpool move for £34m Guehi alternative who’s Konate 2.0

The standards were set right from the word go under Arne Slot, with the title-winning Dutchman memorably hooking young Jarell Quansah at the break during Liverpool’s opening day win over Ipswich Town back in August.

A rising star under Jurgen Klopp, the 22-year-old had been tipped by many, including BBC pundit Nedum Onuoha, to be the successor to teammate Virgil van Dijk, both positionally and as captain, having made 34 appearances in all competitions in 2023/24.

Under the new regime, the England U21 star seemingly failed to recover from that afternoon at Portman Road, having made just three further starts in the Premier League last time out.

Sidelined to the periphery under Slot, the academy graduate has since been surprisingly shown the door this summer, albeit with the Reds able to take in a handsome £35m fee, following that intriguing switch to Bayer Leverkusen.

Whether that proves the correct course of action in the long term remains to be seen, although in the short term it has left the Merseysiders noticeably short on depth at centre-back – a fact only heightened by the situation surrounding Ibrahima Konate.

The latest on Ibrahima Konate’s future

Liverpool’s last senior signing in the centre of defence, Konate has enjoyed an impressive four-year stint at Anfield, having notably started 30 league games as Slot’s men romped to the title in 2024/25.

Almost a guaranteed starter alongside Van Dijk in recent times – not least with Joe Gomez hampered by injury last season – the Frenchman should seemingly be content with his current standing at Anfield, right?

Well, according to recent speculation, it would appear not, with prior claims suggesting that the 26-year-old is demanding a sizeable increase on his current £70k-per-week salary.

That uncertainty has been increased as the former RB Leipzig man only has 12 months remaining on his existing deal, with the latest reports coming out of Spain indicating that he could be willing to run down that contract, in the hope of joining Trent Alexander-Arnold at Real Madrid.

Amid the prospect of that free transfer exit, further Spanish reports have claimed that Liverpool could even be open to selling Konate this summer should he continue to refuse a new deal.

Such a prospect has only heightened the need for a replacement…

Liverpool’s search for a centre-back

The leading figure to usurp Konate’s place alongside Van Dijk appears to be Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi, with prior reports suggesting that personal terms have even been agreed with the Eagles skipper.

With just a year left on his own deal at Selhurst Park, Guehi is also at something of a crossroads in his career, albeit with it yet to be seen if Palace will cash in, having rejected multiple bids from Newcastle United last summer.

Amid the need to also consider alternatives to the 24-year-old, journalist David Lynch has named Parma’s Giovanni Leoni and Wolfsburg’s Konstantinos Koulierakis as two players who the Reds are keeping tabs on, with the young pair said to have been ‘watched’ by those at Anfield.

Links to Leoni – who has been compared to Madrid’s Dean Huijsen – have already emerged this summer, while in the case of the 21-year-old Koulierakis, he was tipped for a move to Merseyside earlier this year.

Indeed, reports back in February indicated that the Greek sensation could command a fee of around €40m (£34m), having only joined the German side last summer.

Why Konstantinos Koulierakis could be Liverpool’s new Konate

Raiding the Bundesliga for the brightest and best has been a theme of Liverpool’s recruitment in recent years, be it Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz this time around, or Dominik Szoboszlai and Konate under the Klopp regime.

In the case of Konate, the contract rebel was just 22 when the Reds forked out a similar fee to what is being touted for Koulierakis, with the £35m man also arriving as a hot prospect from the Bundesliga four years ago.

With 132 appearances under his belt at Anfield, it’s fair to say that such a deal has proven to be a successful one, with journalist Rory Smith describing him as “outstanding” last year, while noting that his talents perhaps go under the radar.

An exit may, unfortunately, lie in store in the near future for the Les Bleus star, although in Koulierakis, a worth replacement could well be found, with the former PAOK man lauded as a truly “standout” prospect by analyst Ben Mattinson.

Also hailed as one of the “biggest talents” in Greece by scout Jacek Kulig, the Crete-born titan enjoyed a promising 2024/25 campaign, having made 30 Bundesliga appearances during his debut season in Germany.

While the left-footer typically operates on the opposite side to Konate, there are similarities to be seen in their defensive prowess. Indeed, the youngster averaged 2.4 tackles and interceptions per game last term, as per Sofascore, while his Liverpool counterpart averaged 1.8 in that regard.

At 6 foot 2, Koulierakis is also a towering presence like the 6 foot 4 Parisien, with the pair winning 59% and 66% of their total duels in 2024/25, respectively, to further illustrate their ball-winning dominance.

In contrast to a figure like Guehi – who boasts 132 Premier League appearances to date – the Wolfsburg man is a relatively raw talent, although having seen the success of nurturing Konate in recent times, why not repeat the trick this summer?