On 28th May 2021 Liverpool announced the signing of RB Leipzig and France Under-21 centre-back Ibrahima Konaté after triggering his £36 million release clause. Centre-back was always going to be a priority this summer and that was only emphasised by the unprecedented injury crisis that the club suffered last season in particular in the centre-half position. Having already been compared to his new team-mate Virgil van Dijk there is huge excitement surrounding his arrival not just for this coming season but for many years to come.
Konaté is a player that Liverpool have kept a close eye on for a number of years like they do with every new signing. Ever since his days at Sochaux and his move to Leipzig in 2017 Jürgen Klopp has been monitoring his progress so this most definitely has been a deal long in the making. He continues an ever-increasing list of players that Klopp and Liverpool have signed that have come through the Red Bull system. Naby Keita arrived from Leipzig in the summer of 2018 after Liverpool agreed to pay his release clause a year in advance of his arrival, Takumi Minamino signed from Red Bull Salzburg in January 2020 after Liverpool triggered his £7.25 million release clause and Sadio Mané was at Salzburg before moving onto Southampton and then Liverpool. Liverpool’s strong relationship with the Red Bull corporation is in large part to the work of sporting director Michael Edwards and has enabled the club to secure these deals. Edwards’ relationship with Red Bull has enabled Liverpool to gain an advantage over their rivals in securing these players by being aware of the release clauses which rival clubs didn’t know about. He fits the profile perfectly of an archetypal FSG signing; he is already an outstanding young player that can have a significant impact in the short-term but is also a long-term investment for many years to come. He is a young player that Klopp can mould and develop in the coming years and the hope is that he will be at the heart of the Liverpool defence for a long period of time.
According to those who have watched Konaté intently over the last couple of years, they believe that he is the better player than his now former team-mate Dayot Upamecano who has followed their former Leipzig manager Julian Nagelsmann to Bayern Munich this summer. Both are immensely talented French centre-backs in their early twenties, but the belief is that Konaté is more talented than Upamecano. Looking at Konaté’s attributes, he will be very well-suited to adapting to the challenges of the Premier League. Standing at 6 foot 4, the same height as Virgil van Dijk, he is a strong, imposing centre-back which is important for a new centre-back adjusting to the rigours of the Premier League. He is one of the quickest centre-halves around which is really key playing in this Liverpool team with a high defensive line which requires the centre-backs to be comfortable running back towards goal against pacey forwards as there is a lot of space in behind the high defensive line. Konaté is used to playing in a high defensive line during his time at Leipzig, therefore that will also help with his adjustment to life at Liverpool.
He is a fluent speaker of French, German and English which will inevitably help with the adjustment to life at a new club in a new country. Sometimes people don’t appreciate that footballers are still human beings and changing jobs requires changes to general life not just the job. Moving to a new country where the language and culture are different requires an adjustment, so Konaté’s grasp of the English language will help him settle in on and off the pitch. Having captained the France Under-21’s earlier this summer in the U21 European Championships his leadership skills at a young age are clear to see.
Konaté will have a full pre-season to push his case to start for Liverpool in the season opener away at newly-promoted Norwich in the middle of August. He will be competing with Joe Gomez and Joel Matip for the starting centre-back role alongside Virgil van Dijk. With Gomez, Matip and van Dijk all returning from serious injuries, Konaté is well-placed to push his case for a place in the Liverpool starting XI when they make the trip to Carrow Road at the start of the new Premier League season. There is huge excitement at the club about Konaté not just this coming season but what will hopefully be a long and successful career for him at Liverpool.
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