Liverpool enjoyed a record-breaking summer transfer window last year.

Indeed, the Reds spent in excess of £400m, signing the likes of Alexander Isak, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike.

However, despite a massive summer spend as champions, Liverpool went backwards last season, finishing fifth and struggling under Arne Slot.

Slot has now left Liverpool, and he’s not the only departure from Anfield this summer.

Mohamed Salah has left the club, and after protracted contract negotiations, Ibrahima Konate has also left.

Speaking on The Blood Red Podcast, Paul Gorst has provided some insight into Liverpool’s transfer plans and one realisation they came to when speaking to Konate.

Liverpool came to a realisation during Ibrahima Konate talks

Konate leaves Liverpool under strange circumstances.

Indeed, at one point, Konate was so confident that he was staying at Liverpool that he basically came out and said as much.

However, the talks broke down as Konate was supposedly asking for astronomical wages.

Apparently, during those conversations, Liverpool realised that their budget needs to accommodate a replacement for Hugo Ekitike next season, and that plays into why Konate wasn’t offered the mammoth deal he was after.

“What was interesting was some of the conversations that came out from the Konate stuff was maybe Liverpool realising that they need someone to effectively cover for Eketike as much as they need someone to replace Mo Salah,” Gorst said.

When will Hugo Ekitike return?

Liverpool need to replace Ekitike due to the fact he’s out with injury.

Sadly, Ekitike has one of the worst injuries a footballer can get – a ruptured Achilles.

A ruptured Achilles can easily keep a player out for 12 months, so Ekitike may well miss the majority of next season.

Therefore, Liverpool need a signing – perhaps a loan player or a youngster to fill that gap until the Frenchman returns.

With Mo Salah also departing, it’s clear that there’s a ton of work for Liverpool to do in their attack this summer.