Real Madrid have added Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate and Inter Milan right-back/right-back Denzel Dumfries this summer in addition to the recently confirmed signings of Chelsea left-back Mark Cucurella and Manchester City midfielder/right-winger Bernardo Silva. 27-year-old Konate and 30-year-old Dumfries bring plenty of senior playing experience and much-needed depth to Real Madrid’s backline.
Konate has just completed his fifth season at Liverpool, having arrived in the summer of 2021 from RB Leipzig in a €40m transfer. The Frenchman played a total of 183 matches for the Reds, including the Champions League final against Real Madrid in his first season. Konate is currently participating in the World Cup finals with France, and arrives in Madrid on a free transfer after his contract with Liverpool expires at the end of June. With Eder Militao still recovering from a left hamstring injury, the French centre-back will compete with Antonio Rudiger and Dean Huysen for a place in the starting lineup to open the season.
Having just finished his worst season at Liverpool, Konate would likely have been unavailable for Madrid this summer had he come off a stronger season. But we must remember that we are not far behind Konate as a key part of the Liverpool side that won the Premier League, receiving raves as the best centre-back in the league from various pundits throughout that season. This included former Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham defender William Gallas who said in November 2024 that he considered Konate the best centre-back in the country. Real Madrid is counting on Konate to regain this level in the 2026-2027 season, after the entire Liverpool team, with the exception of Dominik Szoboszlai, witnessed a sub-par performance last season.
“At the moment, the best defender in the Premier League is Ibrahima Konate. At his current level, there is no one better than him. He has improved a lot since last season and is incredibly strong. Watching him play, it is clear that opponents do not even want to challenge him. This kind of aura and presence is what makes him special.”
— William Gallas in November 2024
The 6’4 Konate has an imposing presence on the pitch, providing a dominating aerial presence that will be welcomed at the Bernabéu. The Frenchman’s fifth season at Liverpool saw him finish sixth in the Premier League with 124 aerial wins, winning 71.3% of his aerial duels in 3,100 minutes. To put that into perspective, Real Madrid’s four centre-backs (Militao, Rudiger, Huysen, Asensio) won a total of 127 aerial duels combined in La Liga in 2025/26 in 6,053 minutes, averaging less than two aerial duels per 90 minutes. Konate has won more than 70% of his aerial duels in the Premier League in each of the past four seasons, with an average win rate of 71.9% over that time. His aerial prowess was no less evident in Champions League matches where he achieved an average win rate of 71.6% during the same time frame.
But Konate’s physical abilities are not limited only to his height. Last season, he recorded a top speed of 35.3 kilometers per hour in Champions League matches, which is the second-fastest Liverpool player and the fifth-fastest midfielder in Europe’s top club competition. Only Kylian Mbappe (36.2 km/h) and Fede Valverde (35.8 km/h) clocked a faster pace than Konate for Real Madrid in the Champions League last season.
Quick centre-backs are always highly regarded in Madrid, as the team dominates the ball in the opposition half in La Liga, and the recovery pace of the midfielders plays an essential role in combating any potential counter-attacks. This has become even more important as Militao and Rudiger, among the fastest midfielders in Europe due to pre-knee injuries, have lost a step due to recurring injuries and, in the latter’s case, age.
Another point that hasn’t been talked about much, but likely factored into Real Madrid’s interest in Konate: the centre-back spent four seasons playing behind and covering Trent Alexander-Arnold. As the heatmaps below show, Konate played much closer to the right touchline in his final season with TAA at Liverpool than Militao did last season, allowing TAA more freedom to move more centrally as he moved up the pitch.
Dumfries arrived at Inter Milan five years ago from PSV Eindhoven for 14.3 million euros. The Dutchman played 207 matches for Inter, including 41 in the Champions League. Dumfries won the Serie A title twice in five seasons with Inter, but Inter fans will remember the Dutchman most fondly for his stunning performance in the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona in 2025, in which he scored two goals and provided an assist that saw him win Barcelona’s Man of the Match award while also dishing out two assists in Inter’s 4-3 win at Giuseppe Meazza who served the goal. Nerazzurri To the Champions League final.
The signing of Dumfries is believed to be a direct request from Jose Mourinho. Real Madrid is expected to pay the €20 million release clause in his contract so that he can compete with Trent Alexander-Arnold in the right-back position after the end of Dani Carvajal’s legendary career at the club.
Like Alexander-Arnold, Dumfries is known more for his attacking abilities than his defensive contributions, albeit in different ways. While Alexander-Arnold advances the ball with his exceptional passing ability, generating a large number of key passes, big chances and successful crosses, Dumfries advances the ball primarily through progressive passes, arriving into the opposition penalty area with a much higher frequency than the Englishman. As shown below, Dumfries averaged 4.9 touches in the opposition penalty area per 90 last season, almost identical to Jude Bellingham’s 4.8 per 90, and significantly higher than the 1.4 touches per 90 recorded by Alexander-Arnold in the box in 25/26. As the data shows, Dumfries has entered the box throughout his career at a rate more reminiscent of an attacking midfielder or winger than a right-back/right-back. However, Alexander-Arnold’s passing ability has led to him creating 89 big scoring chances in Premier League/La Liga + European competition over the past five seasons compared to Dumfries’ 36.
Dumfries has a clear advantage over Trent in winning duels in the air, using his muscular 6’2 frame and jumping ability to win duels at a much greater rate than the Englishman. Dumfries have won 275 aerial duels over the past five league + Champions League seasons compared to just 60 aerial wins for Alexander-Arnold. In a team lacking players with strong aerial game, these skills will be seen as an important addition for Mourinho.
Rest assured, both Konate and Dumfries will make the battle for the starting positions at centre-back and right-back at Madrid more competitive this coming season.
In part two next week, we will closely analyze the signings of Marc Cucurella and Bernardo Silva.
