Inter market: faded free shot going to Madrid, but there's already the yes of another defender

Ibrahima Konaté is set to bid farewell to Liverpool on a zero-parameter basis. The French defender, who had landed in England in the summer of 2021, will no longer be part of the Reds’ back pack for the next football season. The news of his imminent farewell immediately inflamed market rumors, accosting the 1999-born player to a number of Italian soccer bigwigs such as Inter Milan and Juventus. However, in the last few hours has emerged the strong acceleration of Real Madrid, which seems to have now wrested the definitive yes from the transalpine central.

According to reports in Spanish and English media, the Iberian club has already reached an agreement in principle with Konaté’s entourage on the basis of a four-year contract. The whole operation is at a decidedly advanced stage, although its formal conclusion will depend on the outcome of the Blancos’ upcoming presidential elections, set for June 7. In the event that Florentino Perez is confirmed at the helm of the Madrid club, the final green light will come to ratify the zero-parameter deal.

For Konaté, an important experience in the Premier League, which lasted a good five years, thus closes and the doors of the Spanish La Liga open. Despite inclusion attempts and exploratory probes by Inter Milan and Juventus, a move to the Italian league always appeared very complicated, mainly due to economic parameters out of reach for Serie A clubs. At Liverpool, the French center-back was earning a net salary of around 9 million euros per season, and although the details of the new deal with the Merengues have not yet been made official, it is believed that the figures envisaged in the new contract will be quite close to the current ones. A salary request of this magnitude is unapproachable to date for the finances of Italian soccer.

While the track leading to Konaté definitely fades for Italian teams, the Nerazzurri nevertheless remain very active on the defensive reinforcement front. Inter is in fact making major moves for Udinese defender Oumar Solet, and would already have the player’s yes in hand. A multi-year contract at 2 million euros net per season would be ready for the youngster, while between the clubs they are reasoning in the order of a total deal of 25 million euros. The first solution put forward by Inter is that of an offer of an onerous loan of just under 3 million euros with a subsequent obligation of redemption.