One of the positions Chelsea fans want the club to strengthen is their central defence. Levi Colwill, their best centre-back, was injured before the season even started and is expected to remain out for several more months, if not the entirety of the campaign. Also, one can only hope that an ACL injury does not end up affecting his overall game and stall his development.
At the moment, it does not feel like Chelsea have any top-class centre-backs. The likes of Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile might have potential but are extremely injury-prone. Josh Acheampong is highly regarded but is not getting enough chances. Tosin Adarabioyo is not good enough, while Jorrel Hato is not ready. To be fair, Trevoh Chalobah has risen up to the occasion a few times but overall, it feels like he is a great rotational option but not good enough to be a starter.
So, signing an experienced centre-back might be the need of the hour for Chelsea, especially if they find themselves in a Premier League title race and in a good position in the Champions League come January. And one player they have been linked with is Ibrahima Konate.
Another club that had been heavily linked with the Liverpool centre-back is Real Madrid, who have a habit of signing players after their contracts expire to avoid having to pay a transfer fee. But now, it appears that they have pulled out of the race for Konate, leaving Chelsea with potentiall a free run, if they are indeed interested in the French international.
Real Madrid pull out of race to sign Chelsea-linked player
As reported by The Athletic, Konate had been considered by Real Madrid. But the Spanish club have informed Liverpool directly that they now have no interest in recruiting the France international.
Of course, one cannot ignore the fact that Konate's recent form has been terrible. He has looked like a shell of the player who helped Liverpool to Premier League glory just last season.
Then again, that can be said about a number of their players, who looked like world beaters last season and won the Premier League by a 10-point margin. Things are not going well at Liverpool and it might not be right to judge a player based on their form over the last few months. Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk are all-time greats, but nobody would guess that based on their recent displays.
Now, it remains to be seen if Chelsea are interested in Konate or not. Signing an extension with Liverpool cannot be ruled out either. In fact, with Real Madrid pulling out of the race, that is probably the most likely route from here.