Liverpool entered discussions in December to sign €42m ace that will be at pre-season on 12 July

Liverpool signed Ibrahima Konate on the 28th of May but he was in talks with the Reds since before Christmas and will be at pre-season on the 12th of July.

Anfield Central has had front row seats to the Konate show over the last few months and we've now learned that the club was in talks for the Frenchman for longer than first believed.

Liverpool accelerated their plans to sign Ibrahima Konate after Bayern announced they had signed Dayot Upamecano out of the blue.

It was a warning to the Reds that if they waited around, it might be too late to sign Konate. So Michael Edwards got to work.

Liverpool's proactive approach to the transfer market has served them well once again as they beat Manchester United to the 22-year-old.

The Old Trafford outfit called RB Leipzig to be told that their target had already agreed personal terms with Liverpool and that they were too late.

Liverpool reached an agreement with RB Leipzig after trying to negotiate an adjusted payment structure but the Bundesliga outfit demanded his €42million (£36m) release clause be paid upfront.

Anfield Central has now learned that Liverpool made an initial move in December 2020 to explore the possibility of signing him at the end of the season.

Particulars were not discussed but the groundwork was laid and when they came knocking again a few months later, it enabled them to breeze their way to their first signing of the summer.