If you were Richard Hughes would you sell Ibrahima Konate and buy Dean Huijsen? It’s surely one or the other for the Liverpool sporting director.
We’re told after Virgil van Dijk signs his new deal at Anfield that Hughes will turn his attention to Ibrahima Konate, whose contract expires in the summer of 2026.
From a pure footballing perspective it looks like a no-brainer for the Reds sporting director to be extending Konate’s deal. Having come into the team after the first 45 minutes of the campaign, at which point he ousted Jarell Quansah to become Van Dijk’s centre-back partner, Konate has been a consistent, dominant presence at the back for Liverpool. Mistakes like the one he made at Fulham can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
The club will want to avoid the same out-of-contract scenario they’ve endured this season, but that in itself creates a problem for Hughes in that Konate’s representatives will be well aware of that desperation in their bid to get the desired increase in wages for their client from £80,000 per week to £200,000 per week. They’re in a very strong bargaining position.
That’s also lot of money at Liverpool. Only Salah (£380k) and Van Dijk (£220k before new deal) earn more, and with PSR in mind, it makes fiscal sense for the club to instead welcome offers for Konate – who certainly wouldn’t be short of suitors having just played a key role in winning the Premier League title during a season in which he’s also propelled himself into Didier Deschamps starting XI for France – and use the £50m-odd they will likely get from his sale on the centre-back everyone wants.
All of Huijsen’s best attributes were on show in the victory over Fulham on Monday, with the teenager combining the nitty-gritty defending with his eye for a pass and delightful composure on the ball.
No player on the pitch made more than his 12 clearances as he dealt far better with Rodrigo Muniz than either Konate or Van Dijk did last weekend, with the Liverpool “weakness” highlighted by Jamie Carragher after that shock defeat no longer an issue should the Reds land Huijsen.
Left-footed centre-backs are considered gold dust and what’s the only thing better than a left-footed centre-back? A two-footed centre-back.
“I now understand that Liverpool are among the clubs with a firm interest in Dean Huijsen,” transfer expert David Ornstein said last week. “This has been reported elsewhere and is accurate. Chelsea have enquired and Arsenal are in the mix, too.”
Ornstein confirmed that trio as “the leading contenders” for the now full Spain international – who has a release clause of £50m – ahead of Newcastle and Tottenham, on the proviso that Real Madrid don’t wake up to the teenager’s excellence and make the most of his reported trumps-all desire to sign for them instead.
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Chelsea hold an advantage in that Huijsen would breeze into their starting lineup as their best centre-back immediately. Arsenal are the exact opposite as there is simply no way the 19-year-old is starting ahead of either William Saliba or Gabriel Magalhaes.
Liverpool are somewhere in between but the Bournemouth star would surely still struggle to get into the starting lineup ahead of Konate, and Huijsen’s stock has risen to such an extend over the course of this season that he may well turn his nose up at what would initially be a bit-part role at Anfield, particularly if his next club is a mere stepping stone to the Bernabeu in any case.
That problem goes away if Liverpool find a buyer for Konate this summer, with the added bonus for Hughes and Arne Slot – as they look to make sweeping changes to the squad this summer – being that Huijsen is currently on just £30,000 per week and would presumably accept a contract roughly matching what Konate currently earns.
It’s likely going to be one or the other for Liverpool, and while Konate is the safe short-term option there’s every chance Huijsen could turn into one of the best centre-backs in world football under Slot at Anfield, costing the club far less during that time.
