Real Madrid News
Real Madrid re-establish contacts with Liverpool defender over free transfer
While Real Madrid began with multiple free-agent defensive targets for next summer, their list has dwindled quite rapidly.
Dayot Upamecano, who was one of their top targets, is closing in on a renewal with Bayern Munich and has been ruled out as a target by Los Blancos.
Their other free agent target, Marc Guehi, joined Manchester City in the recent winter transfer window and is no longer available on the market.
Contacting the third name
As reported by Matteo Moretto (h/t Madrid Xtra) in a recent update, Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate has reappeared as an option now for Real Madrid to chase in the summer.
The Anfield-based defender was on Los Blancos’ radar ahead of the season and was seen as a prime target for June 2026 for a long, especially given that he would be a free agent. His dip in quality and consistency this season, however, soon saw him ruled out internally.
Now, however, he has re-emerged as an option owing to the sudden shortage of quality options and Real Madrid have contacted him once more to enquire about his situation.
Should Konate be open to a move and willing to run down his contract with Liverpool, the men in white could thus push to land him come June. After all, signing a centre-back is one of their top priorities for the summer.
So far this season, Konate has made 23 appearances for Liverpool in the Premier League and averages over 14 defensive actions per game. He has overseen five clean sheets and scored one goal in the same duration.
As it stands, there have been no positive developments hinting at a renewal for Konate with the Merseyside club, and Real Madrid will look to ensure there are no further developments on that front.
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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