Ekitike Urges Konate to Sign New Liverpool Contract

Hugo Ekitike has stepped into Liverpool’s contract saga with the bluntness only a teammate can get away with.

As speculation swirls around Ibrahima Konate’s future, the forward publicly urged the defender to put pen to paper at Anfield, dropping a pointed message under his compatriot’s latest Instagram post.

Konate had shared a photo of himself arriving for France duty ahead of the World Cup, a reminder of the stage he should have been sharing with Ekitike before the striker’s serious Achilles injury wrecked those plans. Liverpool fans flooded the comments with pleas for the centre-back to stay.

Ekitike joined in. Responding to one supporter who told Konate to sign, he wrote: “signe frere” with two laughing emojis – “sign brother.” A joke, yes. But it carried a clear message from inside the dressing room.

The timing is striking. Only weeks ago, Konate sounded close to an agreement. Speaking at the Hill Dickinson Stadium after helping Liverpool beat Everton, he insisted he expected to remain on Merseyside.

“For sure, there is a big chance I’m here next season,” he said that day. “This is what I always wanted. I’m waiting to sort the contract, but when everything is sorted, you will have to ask Richard (Hughes) what I said to him in September, November and he’s going to say something to make everyone quiet.

“When everything's going to be sorted, I wish you had a discussion with Richard (Hughes) and asked what I said to him a few months ago, before everyone talked about everything. When he’s going to reply, you will see. I just wish that.”

Those words now hang in the air. The deal never arrived. The expectation around the club is that Konate will leave as a free agent this summer, five years after arriving from RB Leipzig in 2021.

His departure would punch a sizeable hole in Arne Slot’s plans. The new head coach is already braced to lose big personalities from the dressing room and has spoken about the need for a fresh leadership core to emerge. Konate, for his part, has never shied away from that responsibility.

“I think I'm a leader already for this team, for the younger players, and for everyone to be fair,” he said. “We know this is part of the football life. The legends are going to leave one day and after, it's going to be our turn to take the lead. I started this already and it's a big responsibility.

“We start and we play football to have this kind of chance and to make sure everything is fine for this amazing club. But I need the help of everyone as well.”

Those comments sounded like the manifesto of a long-term pillar of the side. Instead, they now read like the words of a player standing at a crossroads, weighing up what comes next.

Konate will not be short of suitors. A free transfer for a 25-year-old international centre-back with Champions League pedigree is rare in the modern market. Real Madrid and PSG have already been linked and more will follow if Liverpool cannot turn talks around.

Inside the camp, though, at least one teammate has made his stance very clear. Ekitike may be sidelined, but his voice still carries.

“Sign, brother.”

Liverpool’s hierarchy know exactly what their own players are asking. The question is whether they can deliver an answer that keeps one of their key defenders at Anfield for the next era.