Serie A giants add Liverpool star Ibrahima Konate to transfer wishlist - Reports

Napoli have reportedly added Liverpool's Ibrahima Konate to their wishlist as they look to replace Kim Min-jae.

The South Korea international has sealed a move to Bayern Munich for a reported fee of €50 million. According to Corrieredellosport.it, Robin Le Normand of Real Sociedad is a leading candidate to fill Kim's void at the back.

However, the 26-year-old could cost the entirety of the fee Napoli received for Kim, so the Serie A champions have drawn up alternatives. Konate, who joined Liverpool from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2021 for €40 million, is one of them.

It will be a surprise if the Reds part ways with the Frenchman just two years after bringing him to Anfield. Alongside Virgil van Dijk, he has been Liverpool's finest centre-back in the last two seasons, making 53 appearances across competitions.

Moreover, the 24-year-old would be seen as a long-term successor for Van Dijk and the injury-prone Joel Matip (both 31). The 11-cap France international's contract at Anfield runs till 2026.

Wolverhampton Wanderers' Maximilian Kilman and Leeds United centre-back Robin Koch are also wanted by Napoli. The latter, who was relegated from the Premier League with the Whites last season, has also attracted Manchester United and West Ham United's attention.

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What Konate said about Liverpool's underwhelming season?

Liverpool were in contention to win an unprecedented quadruple in the 2021-22 season, eventually finishing with the FA Cup and EFL Cup in their bag. They ended second in the Premier League to Manchester City and lost to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League final

After scaling such heights, the Reds's 2022-23 season can be deemed a failure in every sense. They did not win any silverware and finished outside the top four (fifth) for the first time since the 2015-16 season.

Reviewing the last campaign, Konate told RMC Sport last month:

"We have a rather complicated start to the season. Afterwards, as we have seen over the last two months, we have a certain pressure, we have really remobilised.

"We said to ourselves 'But our objective is the Champions League', and when we look at our last 10 or 11 games, there are 10 victories, I believe.

The French centre-back added:

"It's us, it's the players: at one point, we screwed up on the season. But it happens to have seasons like that. We are lucky to have our supporters who are always behind us.

"The season is over, you don't have to think about it again. We have to remember the mistakes we made and think about next year."

Konate ended the season with nine clean sheets in 24 games across competitions, missing a chunk of action due to two injuries.