In just five years time, Ibrahima Konate has gone from a relatively unknown, central defensive prodigy at RB Leipzig to a centre-back who looks set to start at the World Cup for the defending champions.
At the age of 17, Konate was signed by the Bundesliga club on a free transfer - not many knew much about the Frenchman, but they certainly do now after he made quite an impression during his time in the heart of the Leipzig defence, leading to him being picked up by Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.
The Reds' decision to trigger the £35million release clause of Konate was a stroke of genius, with the defender now in line to make his mark on the Liverpool and French backline for the next decade - all being well, of course. With just two caps to his name, the 23-year-old could now be set to star on the grandest stage of them all.
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Konate is reportedly set to start against Australia on Tuesday night alongside former Leipzig partner and current Bayern Munich defender Dayot Upamecano. At 23 and 24, France have their defensive partnership sorted for the next 10 years and they both have a chance to cement that during the Qatar World Cup.
Having grown up in the French capital, Konate began his football journey with Paris FC before being snapped up by Ligue 2 side Sochaux. Originally a striker, he made the transition to become a defender under the guidance of Reda Bekhti, and he hasn't looked back since.
"After various meetings we asked ourselves questions about Konate’s positioning in attack," Bekhti told The Athletic in 2021. "He had certain difficulties with that role and I decided after reflection to reposition him as a holding midfielder. Something just clicked. Suddenly, it was like he had played in this position forever. He played it with remarkable ease."
After leaving Paris at the age of just 14, it would only take a couple of years for Konate to make the move up to the first time, making his professional debut at 16 against Auxerre in 2017. And he needed just one season in the senior team to convince Leipzig to sign him on a five-year deal.
After a defensive injury crisis during the 2020/21 campaign, Klopp's priority in the following summer transfer window was to add a centre-half to his Liverpool squad. Former Reds sporting director Michael Edwards looked towards Germany and in came Konate - who was the only signing to come to Anfield that summer.
Before the transfer window opened, Liverpool were linked with every central defender under the sun and one of those was Konate's partner, Upamecano, but it soon became clear he would be snapped up by German champions Bayern. The latter showed his quality in the Champions League matches Leipzig played as Konate went under the radar.
Once the Upamecano transfer was sealed, many reports in Germany were suggesting Bayern had chosen the wrong Leipzig defender and that Konate was the better of the two - something that may have some truth to it. For Klopp, there was no doubt he had picked up the right option.
“I am confident we are signing a player who can play for us right away, but he is a boy of 22 years of age who has room to improve because of his massive potential," Klopp said upon Konate's signing.
“I know that’s something he is eager to work on with us to become an even better player. For me, that’s really exciting because I have seen how good he is already and I’m looking forward to working with him when he joins up with us in pre-season.”
After arriving on Merseyside in 2021, Konate needed time to settle in, as Klopp likes all of his new signings to do, but his talent was soon evident once he was let loose in the Liverpool starting XI. The Frenchman made just his second Premier League start when the Reds beat Manchester United 5-0 at Old Trafford and a certain smiling altercation with Fred endeared him to the Liverpool faithful.
Unlike the previous campaign, Klopp was granted the luxury of chopping and changing who he had partnering Virgil van Dijk as Liverpool went in pursuit of all four major trophies. Joel Matip was in superb form and managed to keep himself fit, but it was Konate who was selected for the most testing of opponents.
The former Sochaux man started alongside the Dutchman in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup final wins and all through the run to final in the Champions League - even scoring in the semi-final win away at Villarreal.
The defender was selected in the heart of the defence to start next to Van Dijk in the Champions League final in Konate's home city. The result may not have gone the way the Frenchman would have hoped, but he put in a Man of the Match performance with Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema hardly getting a kick.
Just a week later, Konate was on holiday with his friends and received a call asking him to join up with the France squad for their Nations League internationals at the start of June - it had been a special couple of weeks for the young defender as he won his first two international caps.
Konate's importance to the Liverpool side was highlighted after a knee injury during pre-season put him out of action until midway through October. The Reds defence had looked shaky, even with Van Dijk, but Konate's pace and power was shown in abundance as Liverpool beat Tottenham Hotspur away from home.
With doubt placed over whether Didier Deschamps would even name Konate in his France squad, the 23-year-old is now ready to showcase his talents in the opening game, and realise his dream.
“I am thinking ardently of the World Cup, and even more so because I was injured for two months," said Konate back in October. "I'm coming back so I have to do twice as much as I haven't started the season. Obviously the World Cup is in my head, it's a goal and a dream.
"If I don't go to the World Cup, I will put this step in a 'fail' box. And this failure will give me strength to progress even more. I will do everything to find my best level, win matches with Liverpool and perform well to readjust this start to the season. And obviously I will do everything to be at the World Cup."
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