Arne Slot about to drop hint over two Liverpool players amid Marc Guehi intrigue

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Liverpool boss Arne Slot may have a decision to make between Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez at Chelsea this weekendThe last time Liverpool were at Stamford Bridge, Ibrahima Konate prompted a smirk or two from the travelling Kop with his celebrations after a game in which the Reds had been soundly beaten. In the past week, though, the only smiles being elicited by the centre-back have been among the opposition after a troubling few matches.With the Premier League crown having been secured the previous weekend, Konate had been a non-playing substitute that May afternoon last season wanting to continue the title party after the final whistle.And as Arne Slot's prepare for their latest trip to Chelsea, the debate over whether the France international should return to the bench continues to intensify.READ MORE: Hugo Ekitike injury latest as major Liverpool hint dropped for ChelseaREAD MORE: Liverpool have new Philippe Coutinho to be unleashed and January transfer now inevitableCertainly, Konate has been way off his best during his last two outings.

And in attack, in each game he sent wide a header from a corner that should really have been thundered into the back of the net.If Konate wasn't directly involved in any of the goals conceded by Liverpool during those games - indeed, he had been substituted by the time Palace notched a dramatic late winner - his performances spread uncertainty throughout the Reds team.And it was his poor pass that set Victor Osimhen away for a chance Alisson Becker injured himself in the process of sprinting back to save, the goalkeeper now facing an extended spell on the sidelines with a hamstring complaint.Konate's accepted major weakness - which, in mitigation, continues to be worked upon - is his ability on the ball, and opponents have long been willing to let the Frenchman retain possession for as long as desired.But defenders are there to defend first and foremost, and it's with this the 25-year-old has, with a couple of notable exceptions, been alarmingly unconvincing not just for much of this campaign, but ever since a harrowing time in the Champions League clash at Paris Saint-Germain back in March.That it has also coincided with Konate having entered the final 12 months of his contract without a resolution in sight and Real Madrid sniffing around the possibility of a free transfer next summer has made some supporters less than sympathetic towards the player's plight.True, Liverpool's defensive travails - they have kept only two clean sheets in 10 games this season and four in 21 since that 1-0 win in Paris, compared to four in the opening six games of last term - are by no means down to Konate.The team as a whole is adapting to new players in key positions, others not being fully fit and, in Florian Wirtz, a completely different type of player at the spearhead of midfield. However, as one of several established players, Konate must improve.What Slot must now answer is whether he trusts the alternatives, of which realistically there is only one.While Giovanni Leoni is out injured until next season, it would have regardless been a big shout for the teenager to be entrusted with such a big game so soon after joining, while neither Wataru Endo nor Ryan Gravenberch has ever started a Premier League game at centre-back.

The 28-year-old lined up alongside Leoni at the heart of the defence in the recent League Cup win over Southampton, but hasn't started a Premier League at centre-back since suffering a hamstring problem at West Ham United last December.With Konate then injured, it was the sixth consecutive top-flight game Gomez had started at centre-back having done so just twice in the previous 21 months.So is Konate in danger of becoming a bit too comfortable? The signing of Marc Guehi would have provided extra competition, and while Liverpool initially had no intention of going back in for the Crystal Palace skipper in January, that view may be changed due to Leoni's lengthy absence.For now, though, Gomez is Konate's only challenger.