Ibrahima Konate has admitted he feels privileged to be learning from Virgil van Dijk at Liverpool, who he believes is 'the best defender in the world'.
The Reds recruited Konate from RB Leipzig last summer and the 23-year-old made 29 appearances as Jurgen Klopp's side participated in a total of 63 matches in all competitions. Now a settled member of the squad, the France international has set his sights on taking his game to the next level.
Training and playing alongside the likes of Gomez, Matip and Van Dijk has proven to be an ideal scenario for the towering centre-back, whose gradual improvement as the 2021/22 season progressed was clear to see. Privileged to play with each of the aforementioned trio, Konate has no doubt in his mind the latter has played a significant role in his development as a player.
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“For sure I improved a lot with him. I improved with him because I learn about him, I look how he plays," Konate told liverpoolfc.com. "But not only him, I learn with also Matip and Joe because we play in the same position. Everybody knows Virg is the best defender in the world and I look a lot at how he plays, how he thinks, before the game he knows a lot of players.
“I take inspiration from him and a lot of players in the world, but with him I have the chance to play with him and to train with him. I think it’s just the start and I hope year after year I will learn, learn, learn again. I hope one day I will be like him or better one day. I hope!”
Konate enjoyed a purple patch towards the end of last campaign, scoring in three successive matches for the Reds as they continued to compete on all fronts. Heading home in both legs of the club's Champions League quarter final with Benfica, this was followed up by the defender breaking the deadlock in Liverpool's FA Cup semi-final versus Manchester City.
Explaining which member of the current first-team squad gave him the belief to have this impact within the final third, the Reds' No.5 added: “I spoke about this one time with Thiago in training and he told me, ‘when you go you have to believe. You are strong, you are big, you have to go’. I said, ‘yes, this is a good word for me.’ And I did it.”
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