'Fair play': Martin Kelly says 'incredible' Liverpool player really sent a message to Arne Slot today
01/25/2025 03:00 PM
Liverpool cruised to an easy 4-1 win over Ipswich Town on Saturday at Anfield.
The Reds kept their Premier League hopes on track against the Tractor boys courtesy of a brace from Cody Gakpo, with Dominik Szobozslai and Mohamed Salah bagging remaining scores.
Liverpool remain six points ahead of Arsenal following the Gunners’ win over Wolves as Arne Slot’s men move on to PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday.
Plenty of Reds stars impressed against Kieran McKenna’s side outside of the goalscorers and pundit Martin Kelly believes one man in particular sent Slot a message.
Ibrahima Konate impresses for Liverpool with Ipswich display
Ahead of the Ipswich tie, Slot mentioned to the media that Konate’s passing ability needs work, although it is improving from the Dutch coach’s point of view.
The defender seemingly took those comments on board as the French international showed what he could do on the ball for Liverpool’s first goal against Ipswich as the centre-back played a beautiful pass to Szoboszlai before the Hungarian star produced a wonderful finish.
This impressed former Liverpool star Martin Kelly, who spoke about Konate’s improved passing on LFCTV GO while bringing up Slot’s comments from this week.
“At the start of the game we were talking about Konate and how much he could improve on his passing going forward, Arne said that in his interview,” Kelly stated.
“The first goal the pass he gave was just incredible. The breaking of the lines was incredible so fair play to him, he’s doing what the manager’s asking him to and probably practicing that in training and he’s done that today.”
The Liverpool star certainly sent his boss a message as his all-round display against Ipswich was excellent with Konate also impressing Paul Merson with his role in the opener.
The 25-year-old is an integral part of Liverpool’s future and the Premier League leaders need to get the player tied down to a new contract.
- READ MORE: PSG's Ibrahima Konate plan explained as Liverpool defender holds out on contract extension
Liverpool need to finalise Ibrahima Konate contract
Konate is keen to sign a new Liverpool contract as his current deal expires in 2026. The French star addressed this topic midweek, stating that "this is another conversation" when asked by the press whether he was close to signing a new contract at Anfield.
The defender could be waiting to see what Liverpool offer Virgil van Dijk in his new contract before agreeing new terms on Merseyside.
Real Madrid have become attentive to Konate’s situation at Liverpool, which shows how highly the 25-year-old is rated within the football world.
The centre-back is the future of Liverpool’s defence and once the other major contract situations have been sorted, the France international’s situation should be the next port of call.
