Arne Slot's next decision made clear as Liverpool suffer Marc Guehi transfer snub

Marc Guehi is joining Manchester City in a deal worth up to £30million, with Liverpool having come agonisingly close to signing him during the summer transfer window

Ibrahima Konate's future at Liverpool has been thrust into the spotlight after Manchester City had a bid accepted for Marc Guehi. Konate, 26, has entered the final six months of his deal at Anfield.

The Frenchman was previously tipped to join Real Madrid on a free transfer but the La Liga giants haven't been linked of late. Liverpool only have four recognised centre-backs on their books at present, one of whom, Giovanni Leoni, suffered a season-ending injury on his debut.

That lack of depth saw Liverpool agree to pay Crystal Palace £35million for Guehi in September. The England international was on course to sign for the Reds until Palace pulled the plug at the last minute.

Guehi's future now looks to be in Manchester. His own contract expires in June and in order to bank a fee, Palace have reluctantly accepted a bid from City worth up to £30m.

With Guehi now firmly off the table, it hastens Liverpool's need to make a decision on Konate. Slot has continued to put his faith in the former RB Leipzig star, despite his largely underwhelming performances since the beginning of the season.

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"Unfortunately for him, he does a lot of things well, but he has been a bit too much at the crime scene, that is something I've heard people saying before in England," Slot recently acknowledged. "So that means that he's been involved in goals we've conceded, but if you are a centre-back that happens in football."

In November, Konate described his contract situation as 'complicated'. "It's clear we think about it," he told French broadcaster Telefoot.

"But what's complicated is that we can't say everything because there's a lot of things being said in the media. Sometimes I see things and I'm like, 'oh la la', and it gets me into trouble with the Liverpool fans even though they don't know all the ins and outs.

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"Anyway, I hope and I know that in any case the most important thing is that I'm happy. We'll see (if an announcement is made soon), we will see. In any case we hope so."

Konate has been able to sign a pre-contract agreement with clubs from abroad since January 1. Paris Saint-Germain have been linked and a move to the French capital would see Konate return to his home city.

For now, the 26-year-old will hope to do his talking on the pitch. Liverpool host Burnley on Saturday and Konate is likely to be named in the starting XI.

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