Former Liverpool participant Mark Lawrenson has set his sights on French U21 center-back Ibrahima Konate because the worldwide break kicks off after the European Cup-winning defender has put latest performances of the Paris-native beneath the microscope.
Konate appeared 3 times for the Reds this month in a pair of FA Cup wins in opposition to Norwich Metropolis and Nottingham Forest in addition to the 1-0 win in opposition to West Ham at Anfield two weeks in the past within the Premier League.
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However Lawrenson, who received eleven main trophies for Liverpool throughout a seven-year stint on Merseyside that included 5 league wins and 4 profitable home cup runs, has not been impressed by the former RB Leipzig starlet, claiming that ‘he disappears.’
“Konate is studying, we all know he’s going to be good, nice physique, fast sufficient. I simply suppose defensively should you watch yesterday and should you watched West Ham as properly, he disappears at occasions from his place, and nearly as good as Van Dijk is, he can’t put his finger within the dike each time one thing occurs.”
Jürgen Klopp backs Konate throughout Liverpool adaptation interval
It was not so way back that each Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konate had been a part of a vaunted backline at Bundesliga upstarts RB Leipzig beneath now-Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann, however the pair have been on totally different trajectories since leaving final summer season.
Upamecano has managed 22-appearances (19-starts) within the league for Bayern this time period whereas that includes prominently of their Champions League marketing campaign as properly and his affect in Bavaria is available in stark distinction to that of Konate who has struggled to interrupt the defensive duopoly of Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip.
However there’s nonetheless loads of time for Konate to develop right into a first-choice choice for the long run beneath Jürgen Klopp, who has leaped to the protection of the Paris Saint-Germain and FC Sochaux academy product whereas backing his capability on the pitch regardless of his must adapt to life at Anfield.
LEIPZIG, SAXONY – JANUARY 19: Ibrahima Konate of Leipzig throughout the Bundesliga match between RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund at Pink Bull Enviornment on January 19, 2019 in Leipzig, Germany. (Photograph by Karina Hessland/Bongarts/Getty Photographs)
“Initially, what gamers all the time must be: they need to be themselves within the first second. That’s why we signed him.”
“He performed video games fairly early for us and I feel all of us agree he’s an distinctive expertise: bodily excellent, good footballer as properly. If you end up that expert, that fast, that sturdy, it’s fairly regular – particularly when you find yourself younger – that your focus degree drops every so often.”
“Tactically, we performed clearly very totally different to Leipzig, they performed fairly regularly there with three within the again, which is totally different as properly. He needed to adapt and has to adapt nonetheless to his teammates left and proper of him, all these type of issues.”