Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konaté expresses his gratitude for the opportunity to enhance his skills by sharing the pitch with one of the world’s finest center-backs.
Virgil van Dijk has reclaimed his peak performance this season, leading Liverpool to League Cup victory as their captain, while the Reds remain competitive across three other competitions.
At the club, he isn’t the only exceptional defender. Ibrahima Konaté, having cemented his place as one half of the league’s top central defensive duo, admits he is lucky to play alongside, learning from the best in the game and wants to be better than him in the future.
“I can take so many things off Virg because I consider him to be the best defender in world football,” Konaté noted. “I could make a long list of the things I’ve learned and am still learning, in training and games. I can always improve and that is what you try to work on.
“He has given me great advice and in part that has helped me to become the player I am today. He sees potential in me and wants me to become an even better defender. I want to try to reach his level and why not sometime in the future even try to be better than him.”
As Van Dijk ascended to become the world’s best defender upon joining Liverpool, he was three years older than Konaté is presently, setting an ambitious yet conceivable target for the composed, physically imposing, and tactically adept Frenchman.
Should Konaté sustain his progression over the next seasons and contribute to Liverpool’s trophy acquisitions akin to Van Dijk’s, he’ll inevitably emerge as one of the elite defenders in the sport.
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