Arne Slot couldn’t have been more wrong about 82% Liverpool ace Ibrahima Konate
Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate has proved head coach Arne Slot wrong by becoming one of the best defenders in the world this season.
The French defender missed 16 Premier League matches last season so it would not have been a surprise if Slot had concerns about the player going forward but he has been almost ever-present so far in this campaign.
He was on the bench for the first half of the opening-day contest with Ipswich but has started every league game since coming on at half-time at Portman Road.
Now, the Reds boss has opened up on how the Frenchman has managed to stay injury-free and consistently impress, saying: “First of all, it is always about the player and how much effort he puts in to stay fit, then it is technical and performance staff but if the players doesn’t buy in it is almost impossible to keep him fit.
“Konate didn’t play Ipswich and there was a reason for that, his pre-season games weren’t his best but he came back quite late and we were training for a few weeks and Jarell had been playing well, so it was a logical decision.
“At half time [of Ipswich] I decided we needed Ibou. He played at Man United and he has bought into getting fit and every meeting with him, he was the one I could see he wanted to learn and listen and improve and that is what he did in my opinion and that is why the improvement from pre-season to Ipswich was massive.”
Liverpool ace Konate is one of the world’s best
Konate, who was recently given the captaincy of France in the absence of Kylian Mbappe is proving to be a genuine superstar this season at both club and international level.
The 25-year-old has struggled with his fitness since joining the Reds but always showed the potential to be one of the best defenders in the Premier League if he could overcome those issues.
Now it appears that he has and alongside the colossal Virgil van Dijk, Konate has helped Slot’s team to concede just seven goals in 11 league matches.
The Frenchman boasts an 82.4 per cent aerial duel success rate, which ranks second in the league among defenders, for comparison, teammate Van Dijk has 71.7 per cent win ratio in the air this season. [FBref/Fotmob]
The former RB Leipzig man also beats his partner for ground duels success rate, winning 73.4 per cent compared to the Dutchman’s 66.2 per cent.
The club captain narrowly edges out Konate when it comes to pass accuracy, with his 91.4 per cent slightly better than the 25-year-old’s 91.3 per cent.
One thing is clear, Konate is rapidly becoming one of the best defenders in the world at the moment as he finally seems to be fulfilling his potential after banishing his injury issues.
In other Liverpool news, Alexis Mac Allister should be dropped for the Southampton game after his Argentina exploits.
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