Liverpool have reportedly 'given up' on trying to keep one of their star players at Anfield, according to news that has emerged a matter of hours before they take on Manchester City.
Arne Slot's side are seeking to retain the Premier League title they won last season but are behind early pacesetters Arsenal.
Liverpool are currently eight points behind the Gunners, but could reduce that deficit to five should they beat City at the Etihad Stadium this afternoon.
The Anfield club have recently returned to winning ways after losing four straight games in the Premier League in the worst run of form since Slot took over from Jurgen Klopp.
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The summer transfer window saw a tremendous amount of change to the Liverpool squad with plenty of ins and outs.
More than £400m was spent in signing the likes of Jeremie Frimpong, Florian Wirtz, Milos Kerkez, Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak.
Out the door at Anfield over the summer included Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz, Jarell Quansah, Caoimhin Kelleher and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Right-back Alexander-Arnold's decision to leave Anfield did not go down well with the Liverpool fanbase after the academy product opted to not sign a new deal with his boyhood club and he later moved to Real Madrid for a reported fee of £8.4m after the Spanish side wanted the defender available to play at last summer's FIFA Club World Cup.
Alexander-Arnold was reunited with Liverpool in midweek as Real Madrid travelled to Anfield in the Champions League, with the hosts emerging victorious thanks to a 1-0 win courtesy of Alexis Mac Allister's goal.
One player who reportedly could join Alexander-Arnold at the Santiago Bernabeu is defender Ibrahima Konate, who is typically the preferred partner in the heart of the Liverpool defence to Virgil van Dijk.
Like Alexander-Arnold, Konate is in the final year of his current Liverpool contract, and though there have been talks to extend his time at Anfield, there has been no extension agreed so far.
It means that as things stand, Konate would depart Liverpool for nothing next summer, and is free to talk to clubs outside of England from January and obtain a pre-contract agreement.
Now, according to a report by Spanish publication AS which has been published a matter of hours before the match against City, Liverpool are said to have 'given up' on trying to keep the defender at the club.
The report said: "Konate, a Liverpool player like Trent before him, has chosen a cautious approach regarding Real Madrid's interest.
"Step by step. Cautiously, but surely. In fact, at Anfield, they've given up on him."
Topics: Liverpool, Manchester City, Liverpool Transfer News & Rumours, Transfer News, Transfers, Ibrahima Konate, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Real Madrid
John McDougall