'Every meeting with him: Arne Slot says £36m Liverpool player is really serious about learning and improving

Today at 07:39 AM

One of the reasons why Liverpool are doing so well under manager Arne Slot is because of how good they are defensively.

Mohamed Salah is scoring goals regularly, but credit must also be given to the Liverpool defensive unit for keeping things tight at the back.

Slot's side have conceded just six goals in 11 Premier League matches this season. In four UEFA Champions League matches, Liverpool have shipped in only one goal.

Virgil van Dijk is back to his best, and there is another Liverpool defender who has stepped up his game this season.

Arne Slot gives his verdict on Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate

Ibrahima Konate did not start the season as the first-choice centre-back next to Van Dijk, but he has won over Slot and is now one of the first names on the teamsheet.

Martin Keown has been full of praise for Konate, and now Liverpool manager Slot has raved about the £36 million defender, noting that the 25-year-old centre-back is always willing to learn and improve. 

Slot told The Liverpool Echo about Konate: "First of all, it’s always about the player and how much effort he puts in to stay fit, then it is technical and performance stuff but if the player doesn’t buy in it is almost impossible to keep him fit. A lot of players until now have done that.

"Konate didn’t play Ipswich and there was a reason for that, his pre-season games weren’t his best but he came back quite late and we were training for a few weeks and Jarell had been playing well, so it was a logical decision.

"At half time [of Ipswich] I decided we needed Ibou. He played at Man United and he has bought into getting fit and every meeting with him, he was the one I could see he wanted to learn and listen and improve and that is what he did in my opinion. And that is why the improvement from pre-season to Ipswich was massive."

Ibrahima Konate's Premier League stats this season

Konate starred for France during the international break and has established himself as a regular in the Liverpool first team this season.

The 25-year-old has scored one goal in four UEFA Champions League games. The defender has also found the back of the net once in 11 Premier League matches.

As per Sofascore, Konate has a pass accuracy of 91% in the Premier League this season. He has recovered an average of 2.9 balls per game and has made 3.6 clearances per game.

Konate has also won 63% of his ground duels and has won 82% of his headers.