Jurgen Klopp confirms when Ibrahime Konate would make his Liverpool debut
Speaking to the official club website (h/t Liverpool Echo), Jurgen Klopp stated that Ibrahima Konate is ready to feature for the first time a Liverpool shirt and can make his debut on Tuesday.
The French defender joined the Reds from RB Salzburg in a £36million move this summer. He is currently with the first-team in Austria, where they have begun their pre-season training camp.
The 22-year-old comes with a big reputation and fans would undoubtedly be excited to see their new signing in action as soon as possible. The Reds begin their friendlies on Tuesday in back-to-back 30-minute games.
Klopp’s men face Wacker Innsbruck and Stuttgart on Tuesday and when asked as to when Konate would make his debut for Liverpool, the former Borussia Dortmund manager explained:
“Tuesday. He’s had a good rest, had a normal pre-season so far, so yeah, he can play on Tuesday. For Ibou it is important that he gets minutes quickly, that’s what pre-season is for.”
Liverpool have gotten themselves a solid backline which is a far cry from where they were last season. In all fairness, the Reds reached that stage only because of injury issues to their main men in defence.
But with Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, and Joel Matip edging closer to their Liverpool return, the Reds can boast of a very strong defensive line-up. Apart from the addition of Konate, Rhys Williams and Nat Phillips can also come in if necessary.
Reds fans would hope it doesn’t come to that and even if last season’s freak injury crisis repeats itself, Fabinho is also not alien to playing as a centre-back.
More Liverpool News:
- Transfer News: Liverpool and Arsenal linked with Matheus Pereira of West Brom
- Liverpool ‘rekindle’ interest in Watford winger Ismaila Sarr
- Transfer News: Lazio make offer for Liverpool attacker Xherdan Shaqiri
As for Konate, it is important for him to get as many minutes as he can in pre-season if he wants to make his debut against Norwich City on 14th August.
