According to reports, Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has hatched a plan to ‘drop’ Ibrahima Konate from his starting XI for PSV on Wednesday night.
Most of Liverpool‘s players have underperformed this season as the Premier League holders have lost eight of their last eleven matches in all competitions.
This dire run of form has seen the Reds concede the Premier League title and fall into the bottom half of the table, while they have exited the Carabao Cup.
In the summer, Slot‘s side spent over £400m on a significant squad overhaul, but it appears that they made too many changes in a single window as they have looked a shadow of their best selves this season.
Hugo Ekitike has arguably been their only good summer signing, while last season’s top performers have massively declined.
Liverpool have become ineffective in attack, incredibly easy to play through and fragile in defence, with Konate one of their weak links.
Konate has entered the final year of his contract at Liverpool and is being heavily linked with several European giants in recent months.
This may have impacted his performances as he has become a liability this season and has been deservedly criticised for his poor displays.
Konate produced his latest dire performance against Nottingham Forest on Saturday as Liverpool were beaten 3-0 at Anfield, with the Reds needing to bounce back when they host PSV Eindhoven in their latest Champions League group match on Wednesday night.
Ahead of this match, a report from a respected account on X with over 680k followers and a ‘team of five elite reporters’ claiming that Konate faces being ‘dropped’ and replaced by Joe Gomez for this match.
It is noted that Gomez is being given a ‘crucial test’ alongside Virgil van Dijk and will start if he performs well.
They explained: ‘According to sources, tomorrow’s training session at Liverpool is set to be pretty intense, with an attackers versus defenders drill lined up.
‘The big news is that Joe Gomez will be teaming up with Virgil van Dijk in the backline for the training session drill.
‘This is a crucial test to see if they can gel well together ahead of the Champions League clash on Wednesday.
‘If Gomez impresses, it could mean Ibrahima Konaté gets dropped from the starting lineup. It’s a real opportunity for Gomez to show he’s ready for the big stage again.
‘It’s all about finding the right balance in defense, especially @LFC poor form of late.
‘Let’s see if Gomez can seize his chance tomorrow in the training session.’