Liverpool Faces Challenge After Konaté's Departure: Who Will Replace Him?
Ibrahima Konaté is heading for the Anfield exit, and this time Liverpool get nothing back but a headache.
No new deal. No fee. Just another cornerstone of a great side walking away for free when his contract expires.
Konaté will follow Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah out of the club this summer. Add Trent Alexander-Arnold’s move to Real Madrid last year, and the numbers are stark: four of Liverpool’s most influential players of the past decade, a combined transfer income of just £10 million.
For a club that built its resurgence on smart trading, that is a brutal return.
Now comes the hard part. Replacing the man who has stood alongside Virgil van Dijk since 2021 in a market where elite centre-backs are gold dust. Richard Hughes, Arne Slot and the recruitment team have to get this one right.
Four names stand out.
Jan Paul van Hecke – Familiar Face, Familiar Partner
Jan Paul van Hecke feels like the obvious starting point.
The Brighton defender has already been linked with Liverpool in his native Netherlands, and the fit is easy to see. He has operated in both a back three and a back four on the south coast, the kind of tactical versatility Slot craves as he shapes a system around last summer’s expensive arrivals.
Van Hecke is comfortable with the ball, used to playing in a possession-heavy side, and he brings output too: three goals and three assists in the Premier League this season from centre-back is no small contribution.
Under pressure, he holds up. One of Konaté’s underrated strengths has been his ability to draw fouls when pressed; van Hecke mirrors that. He’s been fouled 1.21 times per 90 minutes in the league, almost identical to Konaté’s 1.19. That suggests a defender who can invite pressure, ride it, and win Liverpool a breather in tight games.
Out of possession, he steps in rather than sits off. Van Hecke ranks in the 72nd percentile among Premier League centre-backs for interceptions per 90 (1.32), a front-foot defender who reads danger early.
He is not as dominant in the air as Konaté despite standing 6ft 3in, but next to Van Dijk – and with imposing youngster Jeremy Jacquet due to join up in pre-season – he would not need to be the sole aerial enforcer. He would complement what Liverpool already have rather than replicate it.
On the international stage, van Hecke is still fighting for status, stuck behind Matthijs de Ligt and Stefan de Vrij for much of his early Netherlands career. Even so, he has already collected 10 caps and has been called up for the World Cup in North America, where he is expected to play an important role alongside Van Dijk.
That familiarity with Liverpool’s captain is a major tick. It also complicates timing. With a World Cup on the horizon, Liverpool either move quickly before the tournament or accept they will be joining a queue later in the summer.
Brighton hold a strong hand. Van Hecke is entering the final year of his contract, which should tempt them to sell, but it also alerts rivals. Tottenham have been linked, Chelsea are watching, and Brighton are expected to demand around £50 million.
If Liverpool want him as Konaté’s heir, they will have to step into a bidding war.
Joachim Andersen – The Experienced Enforcer
If van Hecke is the progressive, flexible option, Joachim Andersen offers something more rugged.
The Fulham defender, once an unlikely Fantasy Premier League cult hero at Crystal Palace, has built a reputation as one of the most aerially dominant centre-backs in England. He wins duels, racks up clearances, and still looks composed enough on the ball to function in a team that wants to build from the back – even if he doesn’t drive play like van Hecke.
He is a different profile, but one that answers several of Konaté’s strengths. At 29, with six seasons of Premier League experience and 49 caps for Denmark, Andersen brings a level of know-how that would appeal in an increasingly physical league.
He sits in the top 10% of Premier League centre-backs for touches and aerial duels won, a defender who is constantly involved and rarely bullied. Crucially, his frame and style mean he could also cover Van Dijk’s role, giving Liverpool the option to rest their 34-year-old captain, who has played more minutes than any other player his age this season.
Financially, he is the most accessible target. Fulham paid £30 million for him two years ago and, while they would demand a profit, he would still be the cheapest of the realistic options.
Andersen would not block the pathway for Jacquet or Giovanni Leoni, both highly rated internally. Jacquet, in particular, profiles closely to Konaté in the underlying data. That opens up another route: Liverpool might decide they only need a bridge, not a new long-term pillar.
If they do go for a stop-gap, few candidates look more qualified than Andersen.
Jarell Quansah – The One That Got Away?
This is where the story takes a strange twist.
Jarell Quansah returning to Liverpool just a year after leaving for Bayer Leverkusen for £35 million would have sounded fanciful when the deal went through. The market for top right-sided centre-backs in Liverpool’s preferred age range, though, is thin. Very thin.
Konaté’s impending exit only sharpens the focus on that decision. Letting Quansah leave now looks increasingly baffling when you consider how he had already shown maturity and promise at Anfield. His confidence did take a hit during Slot’s first season, not least when he was hauled off at half-time in the Dutchman’s first game in charge, but the talent was clear.
In Germany, he has proved it.
Quansah has re-emerged at Leverkusen as one of Europe’s standout young defenders and has been rewarded with a place in England’s World Cup squad this summer. Those who watched him alongside Van Dijk in Jürgen Klopp’s final campaign will remember his composure. Since then, his numbers have soared.
Across the Bundesliga season, Quansah was dribbled past only twice. On the ball, he posted a 90.3% pass completion rate and averaged 0.55 successful dribbles per 90 minutes, a defender growing in confidence and efficiency in possession.
Liverpool built a safety net into his sale. The deal included a multi-tiered buy-back clause and pre-agreed contract terms, allowing them to re-sign him this summer for £69.4 million.
That is a huge number for a player they sold 12 months ago, and timing again becomes crucial. Reports in Germany suggest any Liverpool return is more likely next year, when the clause drops to £52 million.
From a development standpoint, another season under Xabi Alonso at Leverkusen would not hurt Quansah at all. From Liverpool’s perspective, though, the idea that arguably their best pure defensive academy product since Jamie Carragher could be bought back at a premium after being allowed to leave now looks, at best, deeply questionable.
Alessandro Bastoni – The Statement Move
Then there is the marquee name.
Alessandro Bastoni is the kind of signing that ignites a fanbase. A defender of genuine world-class pedigree, a leader at Internazionale, and a player whose profile has long marked him out as a potential Van Dijk successor.
But is he the right fit for replacing Konaté right now?
Bastoni is left-footed and comfortable stepping out to play at left-back, a trait that would ease the loss of Robertson and offer cover while Milos Kerkez develops and uncertainty lingers around Kostas Tsimikas. In that sense, he solves more than one problem.
Yet his status means he does not arrive as a squad option. He arrives to start. That would likely push Van Dijk over to the right side of the pairing, a significant structural shift for a defence that has revolved around the Dutchman’s left-sided dominance for years.
On the ball, Bastoni is outstanding. In Serie A he ranks in the top 10% of centre-backs for assists, successful passes and accurate long balls, and in the top 5% for big chances created, overall touches and xG conceded while on the pitch. He dictates games, not just defends them.
At one stage this year, a move away from Inter felt more realistic. His red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the subsequent collapse that saw Italy fail to qualify for the World Cup, led to fierce criticism and speculation over his future.
That storm appears to have passed. Inter president Giuseppe Marotta recently told DAZN that Bastoni “has absolutely not expressed his desire to leave”, despite reported interest from Barcelona. For now, he looks set to stay in Milan.
Still, if there is even the slightest opening to tempt him away from the club he joined nine years ago, Liverpool have to be in that conversation. Players of this calibre rarely come onto the market.
Konaté’s departure leaves more than just a gap on the teamsheet. It exposes years of value slipping away for nothing and places a heavy burden on the next decision at the heart of Liverpool’s defence.
Do they go bold with a Bastoni? Trust familiarity and chemistry with van Hecke? Lean on experience with Andersen? Or swallow their pride and circle back to Quansah at a premium?
Whatever they choose, this next centre-back will help define the shape – and ceiling – of the post-Klopp, post-Konate Liverpool.
