Daniel Sturridge has implored FSG to learn one ‘very important’ lesson from the past 12 months ahead of Liverpool’s bid to retain their Premier League title next season.
A tremendously successful campaign on the pitch for the Reds has had a cloud hanging over it for the most part in the long-running uncertainty over the futures of Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold, each of whom had been approaching the end of their existing contracts at Anfield.
Thankfully the former two have now committed to the club for another couple of years, but the England right-back confirmed today that he won’t follow suit and will instead depart on a free transfer in a few weeks’ time.
Sturridge wants Liverpool to sort out new contract for Konate soon
Speaking on Sky Sports after Liverpool’s defeat to Chelsea on Sunday, Sturridge has urged the LFC hierarchy to act swiftly so that they don’t find themselves embroiled in another soap opera over contracts a few months down the line.
Ibrahima Konate is one of four first-team players whose current deal has just over a year remaining, and the former Reds striker is keen to see the French centre-back tied down for the long-term as quickly as possible.
The pundit said: “You’ve got to lock up Konate… I think signing Konate is very important because his partnership with Virgil van Dijk has been key to the team’s success, so tying him down to a contract is the next thing they need to do.
“We’ve seen the talk this season around the contracts with Trent, Virgil and Mo. We don’t want that going on with Konate next season, so I think that’s an important signing for the football club to have that consistency in defence.
“It’s always good to have a partnership that you can rely on and trust and have that triangle with the goalkeeper, so I think that’s an important signing for them.”
Liverpool must avoid a repeat of this season’s contract drama
Sturridge is quite right to highlight the need for Richard Hughes not to dither when it comes to renewing Konate’s contract, with the 25-year-old forming an immense partnership with Van Dijk as Liverpool romped to the Premier League title.
Negotiations are believed to have commenced, but there have been reports of potential complications over the weekly wage that the France international is seeking.
We can only hope that any such discrepancy can be bridged between the various parties involved so that it isn’t allowed to develop into another ‘will-he-won’t-he’ saga like we’ve seen with Trent and, until a few weeks ago, Salah and Van Dijk.
It should help that, whereas there was uncertainty behind the scenes at Liverpool 12 months ago with the departures of Jurgen Klopp and his coaching staff, along with yet another change of sporting director, the boardroom situation is far more stable now with Hughes now in the job for almost a year.
Incoming recruitment is likely to be the priority between now and the end of August while the transfer window is active, but it doesn’t strictly mean that contract renewals should be kicked down the road, especially after the unwanted drama we’d been put through this season.
