Sounds like the perfect reason for us to sign him actually!
The Konate Kid
- Thread starter The Nomad
- Start date
- Latest activity Latest activity:
- Status
Like Gomez ?!
What’s happening with Davies ?!
Its important to note when reading through this thread that the "medical" opinion by some on here, also said we shouldnt have signed van Dijk.
Because he wouldnt be the same player after his ankle surgery, that it would be to much of a risk and that he basically had one leg.
Two years later he played just about every game, wasnt troubled once and is the best center back in the World.
If the medical team find Konate to be 100% and give an all green for his signing, then I'm happy with that.
For a player of this caliber available at that fee, I'd be inclined to take a gamble as well.
Because he wouldnt be the same player after his ankle surgery, that it would be to much of a risk and that he basically had one leg.
Two years later he played just about every game, wasnt troubled once and is the best center back in the World.
If the medical team find Konate to be 100% and give an all green for his signing, then I'm happy with that.
For a player of this caliber available at that fee, I'd be inclined to take a gamble as well.
Who he?
I guess the contents in the above tweets are from these article:
I also didn't get the hype. Tremendous physical attributes that he benefits from. Apart from that, good, but yeah
Here is the article
In the spring of 2017, Ralf Rangnick travelled to Paris to talk to a teenage second-division defender who was mostly on the losing side when he played.
Ibrahima Konate’s first 13 appearances at senior level for Sochaux had yielded seven defeats, a penalty shootout loss, three draws and just two wins, which perhaps explained why few of Europe’s top sides were tracking him.
RB Leipzig’s scouts though, had looked past the team’s poor results and even the player’s own mistakes. They saw a wealth of potential that simply needed to be harnessed.
Konate, one of eight children of immigrants from Mali in West Africa, was 6ft 4in tall at 17, fast, conscientious in his positioning and careful with his distribution. RB’s analysts were certain he was ready to play for Leipzig in the German Bundesliga straight away, that there would be no need nor sense to have him gain more experience at sister club Red Bull Salzburg in the Austrian top flight first.
What piqued Rangnick’s interest even more than the fact that Konate’s contract expired that summer was his personal background. After sitting down with him and his parents for a couple of times in the French capital, RB’s then-sporting director gained a strong sense of Konate’s work ethic and intelligence.
His parents had impressed the importance of education and self-betterment on their children; Konate’s older siblings were all smart and professionally successful in a variety of jobs. The player also had offers from Germany’s Cologne and French sides Lyon and Toulouse but Rangnick was determined to win his signature.
“You give Ralf an hour with a player, and that’s it,” Konate’s former agent Bruno Satin recalls with a laugh. “He’s very persuasive.”
Rangnick showed him videos of RB Leipzig’s aggressive style and told him he’d benefit from playing alongside fellow Frenchman Dayot Upamecano, who had joined from sister club Salzburg that January; he emphasised that the club and their coach, Ralph Hasenhuttl, would do everything to help him progress.
“It was the perfect move for him, because Ibrahima is the kind of kid who always wants to learn,” Satin tells The Athletic. “He’s incredibly humble but at the same time very determined.”
Club officials at Leipzig were immediately taken aback about his maturity: within the space of a few months, he had managed to do his baccalaureat (A levels), pass his driving test and adjust to life in a new country and in the Bundesliga, without so much as missing a beat.
That overnight success had been a long time coming, however. Growing up, Konate had initially preferred to play frisbee rather than football. The bug only bit him when he was eight but grew so strong that he could hold his own in four vs four street matches against the team of his brother Sikou, six years his senior. A year later, the man known as “Ibu” joined amateur side Paris University Club, playing as a striker. He modelled his game on the Brazilian Ronaldo.
His performances as an attacker caught the eye of Paris FC, the city’s second-most important outfit after Paris Saint-Germain. But his development stalled. Konate was only getting game time in the third and second teams of the under-11s, as the competition in the forward positions proved too strong.
One coach, Reda Bekhti, had the idea of moving him further back down the pitch.
Tried as a holding midfielder, Konate was a revelation. His new-found consistency earned him a move to Sochaux’s academy at the age of 15. Konate’s parents sanctioned him leaving Paris for a town five hours away, close to the Swiss border, because they liked the educational facilities attached to the club.
His time in Sochaux Under-17s was marked by another positional change, and the one that came to determine his career: he was moved to centre-back by coach Eric Hely.
Some months later, Konate was invited to train with the senior squad. It took six months more for him to make his professional debut, against title-bound Monaco in the League Cup in January 2017.
Speaking to goal.com, Sochaux’s coach at the time Albert Cartier recalls having a chat with Konate before that quarter-final tie. “I told him, ‘If I have to tell you that you are playing against Monaco and Falcao, what will be your reaction?’ He replied, ‘I will concentrate, I will make sure not to get exposed, and I will try to take in as much information as possible about the player I have to mark’. I found that answer very mature. He was very lucid and gave things a lot of thought.”
Konate did well. Very well, as it turned out. “I was not sure before the game, because I did not know him well, but after five minutes, I thought this guy is a monster,” Sochaux’s then right-back Mickael Alphonse said.
Against Leonardo Jardim’s star-studded side, featuring the likes of Radamel Falcao, Thomas Lemar, Joao Moutinho, Bernardo Silva and Tiemoue Bakayoko, as well as Kylian Mbappe and Fabinho as unused subs, Sochaux led until the 83rd minute, then battled to a 1-1 draw after extra time. They eventually lost on penalties to opponents who a few weeks later would knock Manchester City out of the Champions League’s last 16 but Konate, in particular, was a winner. “He played like a boss,” Cartier said.
Nine months later, he was starting for Leipzig in the Bundesliga, with his “Ibu” nickname having morphed into “Ibuprofen”. The moniker and his form when fit suggest he could well solve Jurgen Klopp’s defensive headaches.
Asked by The Athletic about Upamecano’s breakout performance in last season’s Champions League quarter-final win over Atletico Madrid, Rangnick insisted that Konate was just as promising, “a potential world-beater”.
There’s a perception that the player has been injury-prone. In reality, he’s suffered one serious injury: to his hip flexor muscle. It needed surgery in France last summer after a recurrence and is the main reason his game time has been limited, and the hype turned down a lot. Previous and subsequent complaints have been very minor, though. Rangnick, for one, is certain that he is destined for great things. “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.
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.
In Leipzig, they will be sad to see Konate go. A popular member of the dressing room, the 21-year-old is famous for his love of colourful tracksuits and Dragon Ball-themed socks, as well as being funny with his one-liners. Satin is in no doubt that his former client will come good at his next club, whether that’s Liverpool or someone else, his patchy involvement over the past couple of years notwithstanding.
“He’ll be a success wherever he goes,” he says, “because he’s a very serious and focused guy.”
Seems risky, hopefully a smokescreen. Would be a shame if we aren't bringing Kabak in also, I think he's really stepped up since getting assaulted by Alisson against Leicester.
The general positive is that we are looking to address the situation - we can't have multiple CBs who will break to injury when played a lot. Matip and Gomez as two of your three is too much of a risk. At least one needs replacing and we need a high quality fourth choice.
Getting two 20/21 year olds in would be a bad signal for Rhys, unless we plan on loaning him out a bit more.
The general positive is that we are looking to address the situation - we can't have multiple CBs who will break to injury when played a lot. Matip and Gomez as two of your three is too much of a risk. At least one needs replacing and we need a high quality fourth choice.
Getting two 20/21 year olds in would be a bad signal for Rhys, unless we plan on loaning him out a bit more.
Need two new CBs, pretty certain if Kabak performs then he will be signed. If Kabak as a 20yr old is worried being at a big club is linked with other CBs then maybe his mentality isn’t right for a big club.
Pretty sure he knows what he’s in for so don’t seeing the fact he will always going to have competition ever an issue.
Pretty sure he knows what he’s in for so don’t seeing the fact he will always going to have competition ever an issue.
Last edited:
An offer hasn't been made, and he's already getting acquainted with our treatment table.
Liverpool transfer news: Ibrahima Konate move is 'not an option', says RB Leipzig director Markus Krosche
"I think that this is not an option for Ibu," Krosche said of Konate, who has made 15 appearances in all competitions this season and has a contract at Leipzig until June 2023.
"He has a long contact with us and he knows what we mean to him and what he means to us.
"He was unlucky last year as he had a long-term injury but this year he is developing well and he is an extremely important player that has a lot of potential.
"I think that this is not an option for Ibu," Krosche said of Konate, who has made 15 appearances in all competitions this season and has a contract at Leipzig until June 2023.
"He has a long contact with us and he knows what we mean to him and what he means to us.
"He was unlucky last year as he had a long-term injury but this year he is developing well and he is an extremely important player that has a lot of potential.
Not much to negotiate when you have a release clause, other than paying it in full.
Never realized you are this talented at football 😉 We could have used you this season.
If we pay the release fee there will be no option for Leipzig. That said, I can't see how he can pass tests until we activate the release fee.. so as you were.
If you get permission from Leipzig I dont think its unlikely that you can do some tests. Its probably not a full medical, but maybe some check ups on the injuries etc.
The fitness tests were reported by some reliable French journos, so that could be some truth in that.
The fitness tests were reported by some reliable French journos, so that could be some truth in that.
I'm 100% sure our medical team have not been in Germany conducting fitness tests on Konate.
You are correct. They were in Paris according the French Media.
Mate did you not read the tweets? he’s not injury prone he’s just misunderstood
I agree with you, its highly unlikely.
Maybe they did it via zoom
- Status
