Ibrahima Konate agreement reached as Liverpool sent clear Real Madrid warning

Former Premier League defenders Conor Coady and Rio Ferdinand have leapt to the defence of Ibrahima Konate. The central defensive duo have rejected criticism of the Frenchman's displays, after he came under fire earlier this campaign.

Premier League champions Liverpool havefound themselves under intense scrutiny after their top-flight defence hitting a stumbling block over the past week or so. Yet Konate's showings have emerged as one of the primary discussion points throughout the campaign, with Liverpool appearing shaky at the back despite claiming victory in their opening five fixtures.

The 26-year-old's deal expires next summer, leaving the Reds facing an increasing prospect of losing him on a free transfer. All that with Real Madrid lurking.

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The Spanish giants have continued with longer-term interest in the former RB Leipzig defender, with speculation indicating Xabi Alonso's outfit might seek to capitalise on the free transfer market yet again. Against the backdrop of continuing doubt over his Anfield future, Konate has struggled for consistency during this campaign.

He recovered with impressive outings against Arsenal and Everton, though faced criticism for mistakes in clashes with Bournemouth, Newcastle United and Galatasaray. Ferdinand has argued that owing to persistent speculation linking him with a Madrid switch, Konate is being made a scapegoat amid the uncertainty.

"There's no way that Konate has a bad performance last season and he's getting the headline treatment," he said. "It's only because of the interest from Real Madrid, and there's going to be disgruntled fans or people in the media that support Liverpool who are going to now start pointing the finger and blaming him.

"Or, whenever there's a little mistake here, and if there's blame to be put between two people, then he'll probably get it now because of that situation." At the back, Liverpool have struggled badly this campaign - while their knack for late goals has been overshadowed by shipping crucial strikes in the dying moments.

The Reds have fought back to draw level in their previous two Premier League outings only to be sucker-punched in added time, with Estevao Willian's winner echoing Eddie Nketiah's heart-breaking winner a week earlier. New defensive signings Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez have come under fresh examination, too, and Conor Bradley has also suffered a downturn in performances.

Coady maintained that Konate's errors and poor showings stem from insufficient cover, though. The ex-Liverpool and Everton centre-half explained: "I look from a centre-back's point of view and Konate is getting a bit of stick at the start of the season, let's be honest.

"But you've got to remember he has got to play a different way now. What I mean by that is that he's having to defend in the channel now because Frimpong or Conor Bradley are out of position or Szoboszlai is out of midfield.

"Teams exploited that channel and Konate has got to go out and defend and I'm telling you now, from a centre-back's point of view, you do not want to go out there and defend as a right-back. It's hard, there's a reason you're not out there, you're not quick enough.

"Trent would go into midfield but I always thought he was there. He got a lot of stick for his defending, but now there's no full-back in position and whenever the ball is on transition, the space is vacated so Konate is having to defend in the channel with a massive space. I'm telling you now, no centre-back wants to defend there and there's a reason you play centre-back and not right-back."

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