Liverpool will sign RB Leipzig centre-back Ibrahima Konate for £32m, with the deal set to be announced on May 1st, according to CaughtOffside.com‘s Leah Smith.

The Frenchman is believed to have a release clause that would allow the transfer to go ahead without any negotiation, and Smith claims the Reds have sealed the move:

Correction.. May 1st.

The 3 in May 31st was a typo.

— Leah Smith (@LeahSmith_) April 21, 2021

Whether this turns out to be true, we shall have to wait and see. Reliable journalist David Ornstein had originally claimed that the Reds were in advanced talks to snap up Konate, but those reports were later played down somewhat by other sources.

Chelsea and Manchester United were also believed to be interested in the 21-year-old but it seems Liverpool have gone early in the market to prevent others from hijacking the deal.

The fact that their interest in Konate entered the public domain may have also forced them to speed up the process and clinch a deal before the end of the season.