Real Madrid News
Real Madrid ‘one step away’ from completing first transfer after initial agreement reached
Earlier today, word broke out that Real Madrid were pushing aggressively for Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate who is out of contract this summer.
After all, the player offers a valuable profile with good experience in top-flight football and appears to be a great option given Real Madrid’s current defensive situation.
The club, thus, reactivated conversations with Konate’s entourage and even sent over a proposal for four years with the option to extend byba further year based on his performances.
One step away
As revealed by Abdellah Boulma in a recent report, Real Madrid and Konate have reached an initial agreement and both parties are interested in taking a step forward towards working together.
Onze Mondial further report that the transfer is just one step away from being completed. It is in the final stages and an official confirmation may not be far off.
Given that the player is out of contract, Los Blancos save on transfer fees and will not have to pay Liverpool any sum for the transfer. What remains to be seen, however, is whether there is a sizeable signing-on bonus included or not.
A difficult season
Konate was a regular for Liverpool last season across all competitions and even had 36 league starts with an average of 86 minutes per game.
His prominence, however, did not directly translate to his best form. On the contrary, the player has a relatively erratic season for a plethora of reasons.
While he remained largely fit, the player was dealing with pressure to keep up with the workload and also had a deeply emotional and difficult season on a personal level having lost his father and teammate Diogo Jota.
A move to Real Madrid, thus, may be exactly what he needs as a whiff of fresh air and the chance to start afresh.
Real Madrid will be looking to pick up their fifth win of the 2026/27 La Liga season when they take on Elche CF at Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero later tonight.
With 12 points from five games, Los Blancos are currently second in the league table, three points below leaders FC Barcelona.
As such, the Spanish capital club will be eager to get the win and close the gap to the top.
Guler starts, Bellingham rested
Ahead of kickoff, Real Madrid have announced the starting lineup that will take the field against Elche, with Jose Mourinho making some important changes.
For starters, Arda Guler is back in the lineup after appearing as a substitute in the win over Rayo Vallecano.
Interestingly, however, he starts in the attacking midfield role, with Mourinho opting to rest Jude Bellingham, who has started all of Real Madrid’s games so far.
That also means that Yan Diomande retains his place in the team, starting for a second time in a row on the right wing. Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. continue in their respective positions in attack.
Another notable change sees Aurelien Tchouameni make his first start of the season after recovering from injury and making two appearances off the bench.
He replaces Bernardo Silva as Federico Valverde’s partner in the middle of the park.
Meanwhile, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Marc Cucurella come in as full-backs, while Ibrahima Konate and Dean Huijsen slot in at centre-back in front of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
📋✅ ¡Nuestro XI inicial!
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) September 15, 2026
🆚 @ElcheCF
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