Liverpool agree five-year deal with £30 million target, transfer imminent

Liverpool are reportedly close to completing their first signing of the summer with the club close to reaching an agreement with Red Bull Leipzig over the transfer of defender Ibrahima Konate.

Jurgen Klopp has made signing defensive reinforcements a priority this summer after seeing his key defenders suffer major injuries over the course of the campaign, which ultimately derailed the Reds' title defence.

According to Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Liverpool have agreed personal terms with Konate and it is just a matter of the two clubs reaching an agreement over the fee. The French defender, who has a release clause of £30 million in his contract, is said to have put pen-to-paper on a five-year deal.

"It is really, really close. it is just a matter of time," Romano said speaking on talkSPORT on Wednesday. The agreement with the player is done. They want to sign the player. It is just a case of the clubs negotiating. The player wants to go. It is a five-year contract. In some weeks, it will be complete."

Klopp has been without Virgil van Dijk – Liverpool's Player of the Season last year – for almost the entire campaign. They also lost his defensive partner Joe Gomez to a long-term injury. The Reds signed Ozan Kabak and Ben Davies in January but Klopp depended on Fabinho in central defence for a number of games.

Kabak has made 13 appearances for the Reds since joining on loan from Schalke in January and is currently a regular starter under Klopp. However, the Reds are yet to make a decision with regards to making his deal a permanent one in the summer.

Davies, on the other hand, is yet to make his first-team debut after signing a permanent deal from Preston North End. Konate's arrival is likely to make his route to the first-team even harder, especially with Van Dijk and Gomez expected to return for the start of the 2021-22 campaign.