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'Perfect' Konate replacement named by the stats; Newcastle fans won’t like it

Originally posted on Empire of the Kop
By Farrell Keeling | Last updated Sep 23, 2025 4:36 AM ET

There remains a very real possibility that Ibrahima Konate won’t be wearing a Liverpool shirt after the summer of 2026.

The French international is still in talks with the Reds over extending a contract set to expire next year.

However, with Real Madrid understood to be sniffing around the former RB Leipzig centre-back, this eventuality appears increasingly unlikely.

Indeed, Los Blancos are reportedly very confident they can sign Konate on a free next summer.

Who could Liverpool replace Ibrahima Konate with?

Marc Guehi is the obvious contender to fill the potential gap, given Liverpool’s strong pursuit of the Crystal Palace defender in the summer.

Eagles boss Oliver Glasner, however, pulled the plug in the 11th hour, so we’re now banking on our current array of options lasting us until at least January.

With an injury-prone Joe Gomez and youthful Giovanni Leoni (18) waiting in the wings – that doesn’t exactly fill us with confidence! That said, no harm done yet.

In the meantime, it gives Liverpool’s recruitment team yet more time to consider options on the table. Especially, if we’re considering bolstering the backline with more than one new centre-back in one of the next windows.

With that in mind, according to the statistics on offer at FBref, the best possible replacement we could sign is allegedly Newcastle United centre-half Malick Thiaw.

Who are the top 10 statistically ideal replacements?

According to the good people at FBref, the top ten list of footballers to replace Ibrahima Konate includes:

Malick Thiaw
Clement Lenglet
Amir Rrahmani
Sam Beukema
Obite N’Dicka
Thilo Kehrer
Marc-Oliver Kempf
Antonio Rudiger
Moussa Niakhate
Jan Paul van Hecke

Should Newcastle prepare for Liverpool to sign Malick Thiaw?

Before Newcastle United fans begin to complain, it’s worth immediately emphasising that there haven’t been any serious links between the German and Liverpool since 2020.

Back then, the then 19-year-old was still plying his trade with Schalke in the Bundesliga. German outlet BILD reported at the time that Thiaw was on Liverpool’s radar, however, a lengthy contract was proving to be an issue.

Whilst we appreciate that FBref considers the 24-year-old to be Konate’s most statistically suitable replacement, we do have some concerns.

Chief amongst them, perhaps, is the footballer’s ability to contest aerial balls.

Ibrahima Konate’s aerial duel success rate	Malick Thiaw’s aerial duel success rate
72.1%	61.2%

* Average aerial duel success rate of Ibrahima Konate and Malick Thiaw from recorded seasons on FBref

61.2% is a pretty stark drop-off from what we’re currently experiencing with our French international. Bearing in mind that we’re also keen on landing Marc Guehi next year – who has an average aerial duel success rate of 55.8% – we can’t see Liverpool willingly sacrificing aerial dominance.

Perhaps we at Empire of the Kop are reading too much into this particular stat. That said, it’s a genuine concern of ours.