Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate is expected to be dissatisfied as his international teammate Khephren Thuram appears to be given the green light to join Juventus.

 

Thuram, 23, had been a clear priority for the Merseyside club as they sought to strengthen their midfield options under new coach Arne Slot. Konate, a French international, has previously claimed that he would welcome and urge his teammate to join the Premier League and compete with Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo.

 

However, Liverpool appear to have been beaten to the post by the Italian club, where the midfielder’s father, Lilian, made over 200 games and won two league titles. Konate joined Liverpool from RB Leipzig in 2022 and has progressed into one of their premier centre-backs alongside the ever-present Virgil Van Dijk, conceding just 41 goals in the last Premier League campaign – a feat only bettered by Manchester City and Arsenal.

Speaking to RMC Sport, Konate stated: “I would be very happy for him to come to Liverpool. I would take him under my wing and do everything I could to help him progress and become the player he wants to become.

“Khephren is like my little brother. He’s someone I saw growing up. I was with his big brother (Marcus) in the training centre, but I saw him grow.

Thuram is set to join his father’s former club Juventus ( Image: Anthony Dibon/Icon Sport via Getty Images)

“I saw him perform and progress at a level… it was incredible. Even when he came to the France team for his first selection. I saw him at the training, and I was really surprised by his size and technical ease.”

Konate will be less than pleased that he will not be playing at the same club as Thuram next season, who will join his brother Marcus in Italy, where the latter leads the line for Simone Inzaghi’s Scudetto-winning Inter Milan outfit.

( Image: Getty Images)

Liverpool will now have to consider their choices for holding midfielders, with Manchester United’s Manuel Ugarte and Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich on their radar.