After a sordid season of centre-backs on sidelines, Liverpool moved early to secure the signature of Ibrahima Konaté (£5.5m) this summer.
The Reds reportedly agreed to pay the defender’s £36m release clause at Red Bull Leipzig.
Konaté begins a long-term Anfield contract on July 1, having been on a short duty with the France Under-21 team at the European Championships.
He has been priced at £0.5m more than defensive colleagues Joe Gomez (£5.0m) and Joel Matip (£5.0m), while Virgil van Dijk (£6.5m) is the most expensive of the bunch.
Much of Konaté’s appeal could come down to the fitness of those three players, with pre-season set to tell FPL bosses how Liverpool’s defence might shape up.
THE HISTORY
Konaté (left) in action for Leipzig
Having graduated through the academy at French outfit Sochaux, Konaté made his professional debut with the club at the age of 17.
Leipzig snapped up the centre-half on a free transfer in the same year, 2017, tying him down to a five-year contract.
He made a solid breakthrough into Die Roten Bullen’s first team, clocking up 16 appearances before becoming a regular under Ralf Rangnick in 2018/19 with 28 showings.
However, injuries in the two following campaigns saw Konaté in and out of Julian Nagelsmann’s XI, making just six starts in 2019/20 and eight last season. He did also appear off the bench six times during 2020/21, along with making five Champions League group stage starts. On the acquisition, Jurgen Klopp said:
“I’m really pleased we’ve been able to add a player of Ibrahima’s quality to our squad and he is someone I’ve admired for a long time, ever since I first became aware of his potential when he was at Sochaux. After the problems we had with injuries in the centre-half position last season, there’s no doubt it was clear it was an area of the team we needed to strengthen — but I first have to say that the job Nat [Phillips], Rhys [Williams] and Ozan [Kabak] did was incredible. Unbelievable really. (Ibrahima) comes to us after playing more than 90 times for Leipzig in the Bundesliga and European football. I’m sure that number would have been more but for some injury – but even so, that means he already has experience of what it takes to compete in two outstandingly difficult competitions. He also played for a team in the Champions League in high-pressure matches, who have a similar football vision to ourselves.”
With just two goals in total for Leipzig in four seasons, Konaté will not offer the type of goal threat we expect from defenders such as Van Dijk.
PLAYING STYLE
Konaté battles with Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski
Where better to hear about Konaté’s style of play than from the horse’s mouth? On the central defender, Klopp explained:
“In Ibrahima we are signing a player who will add to the quality we already have here. His physical attributes are very impressive; he is quick, he is very strong and he is dominant in the air.”
The Liverpool boss also expects Konaté to be able to slot in immediately for the Anfield club.
“I am confident we are signing a player who can play for us right away but he is a boy of 22 years of age, who has room to improve because of his massive potential. I know that’s something he is eager to work on with us, to become an even better player. For me, that’s really exciting because I have seen how good he is already and I’m looking forward to working with him when he joins up with us in pre-season.” – Jurgen Klopp
It is also no surprise, considering Liverpool’s style of play, that Konaté is thought to be comfortable in possession and able to begin attacks by bringing the ball forward. German football expert Raphael Honigstein told Liverpool’s official site of the centre-back:
“He is a very technical centre-back. In terms of his development as a player, I think it has been pretty good if you consider the fact that (Leipzig) was the first big club he played for and he has gone from a player that was picked up for free to a player seen as the solution to one of Liverpool’s problems next season. He is just a top, an absolute top player. If it’s true that centre-backs, a little bit like centre-forwards, tend to mature a little bit later – and I guess (Virgil) van Dijk is a very good example of that – then the ceiling is still very, very high for him. I think there’s a lot more he can achieve and he can personally aspire to. So, top buy, in my view.”
As with Klopp, Honigstein believes that Konaté – a fluent English speaker – is ready for Premier League football.
“There’s always a bit of adjustment of course when you come to the Premier League. Liverpool play a similar game to Leipzig in many ways, with the high line and the pressing, but of course it’s still slightly different. I think he is ready to play at this level. I think the valuation that Leipzig had on him is realistic and it shows you what kind of position he has achieved in terms of his future. I think Leipzig always knew to a certain extent that he was going to attract huge interest, which is why this release clause was put there in the first place. I think they knew all along that Leipzig wasn’t going to be his last stop, he was destined for very great things, I think.” – Raphael Honigstein
THE STATISTICS
Konaté captained France Under-21s in their defeat to the Netherlands
Across all competitions last season, Konaté made 1.71 tackles per 90 minutes. He also boasts impressive statistics in terms of aerial duels, winning 3.28 headers per 90.
Konaté also attempted 62.81 passes per 90 minutes last season, completing almost 85% of those. Should Liverpool keep a clean sheet, the defender could end up in the frame for bonus points depending on the result.
He also made 3.35 progressive passes and 4.35 progressive carries every 90 minutes, speaking to his ability to move and carry the ball forward. An average of 1.07 penalty-area touches per 90 compares favourably to positional rivals across Europe’s top five leagues.
However, ‘minutes played’ is the most pertinent statistic in relation to the Frenchman. Over league and cup campaigns in Germany, Konaté managed just 681 minutes in 2019/20 and 1,170 minutes in 2020/21.
He did play 90 minutes for France Under-21s in their delayed European Championship quarter-final against Holland on May 31, so Liverpool will hope he is fit coming into pre-season.
THE PROSPECTS
As previously alluded to, Konaté’s first-team prospects will come down to his own fitness and crucially, the availability of other centre-backs to Klopp.
Nat Phillips (£4.5m) is another name, along with Gomez and Matip, that will be competing for a spot alongside van Dijk when all options are available.
However, while Phillips performed admirably in the absence of that other trio, Konaté’s signing suggests game time could be hard to come by for the Englishman in the new season.
Only six teams conceded more big chances than the Reds last season. Three of those were relegated, with Crystal Palace, Southampton and Leeds the others. The Whites also tightened up defensively towards the latter part of the campaign.
If he is jettisoned into the first team immediately, Konaté will be expected to hastily improve Liverpool’s defensive record from last season.
While he will not be able to compete with either of Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.5m) or Andrew Robertson (£7.0m) in terms of attacking points, Konaté could present a viable option for FPL bosses seeking a cheaper route into the Liverpool defence.
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