German journalist Raphael Honigstein has discussed the potential signing of Ibrahima Konate for Liverpool.
According to Honigstein, Jurgen Klopp was eager to hear more information on both of Rb Leipzig’s central defensive wonderkids – and was told that both were worth taking a punt on!
With Bayern Munich securing Dayot Upamecano, Konate became our choice!
“A few weeks ago, Liverpool manager Klopp made some discreet enquiries back home in Germany, to canvass opinion about both Leipzig’s highly-rated centre-backs. Which one was better, or at least better suited to the Premier League? The feedback he received could be summed up as “buy both”. Upamecano’s announced move to Bayern Munich this summer has since narrowed the choice,” he wrote in the Athletic.
In the piece, Ralph Rangnick also explained the differences between the two – and maybe explained why Konate is the bigger talent anyway.
“Whereas Dayot relies a lot on his physique and his pace, Ibu plays with his head more. He’s got great anticipation and positioning,” he said.
Konate’s best season for Rb Leipzig came in 2018/19, but due to injury, he’s not played much since.
His potential though is enormous – and we like the fact he plays on the right-side of central defensive pairing – theoretically making him the perfect option to line up alongside Virgil van Dijk in future seasons.
Maybe next season we’ll have van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Joel Matip, Konate and Ozan Kabak as five CB options – slightly more than this campaign…