Report in Spain claims Liverpool will be bidding farewell to France defender Ibrahima Konate in the coming days because Real Madrid are desperate to sign him

Ibrahima Konate has just a year remaining on his Liverpool deal

Liverpool are gearing up for their first pre-season friendly, away to Preston North End, this afternoon with a number of touching tributes set to be paid to Diogo Jota.

The game should also provide Reds fans with a first look of new signings Jeremie Frimpong, Florian Wirtz and Milos Kerkez following an early summer spending spree to equip Arne Slot with a squad capable of retaining their Premier League title.

But, as ever, the transfer rumour mill continues to spin and having spent £200m on new signings, talk surrounds players who may up being sold to balance the books.

Here are some of the rumours doing the rounds – and some of them may even hold a grain of truth.

Konate to Madrid

Real Madrid have “reached a comprehensive agreement” with Ibrahima Konate, according to the Spanish outlet Fichajes, who add that they are set to pay £43m in a “deal that will be finalised in the coming days.

The report adds that Konate “meets the qualities Xabi Alonso considers essential to compete at the highest level” and the defender, who has a year left on his deal, “is not considering any other alternative at this time.”

Guehi latest

Two plus two was equalling five yesterday with suggestions that Marc Guehi is more likely to move away from Crystal Palace now they had been demoted to the Conference League because of a multiclub ownership issue.

But there are also suggestions that Parma’s Giovanni Leoni and Wolfsburg’s Konstantinos Koulierakis are “being watched,” according to a Substack blog by David Lynch.

Guehi helped Crystal Palace win the FA Cup last season

Starlet’s deal

Youngster Rio Ngumoha will sign his first professional contract with Liverpool following his 17th birthday next month, according to the Echo.

The Reds pulled off a coup last summer when signing the highly-rated teenager from Chelsea and he made a senior debut in the FA Cup third round win over Accrington Stanley in January despite still being on a scholarship deal.

He has been tipped to feature again under Slot during pre-season.