Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate admits he needs to 'level up'

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Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate admits he needs to 'level up'

Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate has admitted he must 'level up' and show more of himself as he prepares to begin his third season with the club.

Konate was a £36m arrival in the summer of 2021 when the Reds triggered the release clause in his contract with RB Leipzig. But things for the Frenchman have taken time – he spent most of debut campaign on the bench, while injuries last season meant he only played regularly from March.

But at 24, with three years still left on his contract and a strong finish to 2023/24 under his belt, there is still plenty of potential for Konate to develop as expected.

"I'm very happy to be here and I want to win a lot of trophies with this club because it's an amazing club with big history," he told LiverpoolFC.com.

"I want to be a big part of this club and win a lot of trophies with this club. I think this season, the third season, I have to level up and show another personality of me on the pitch and in life as well. I have a lot of objectives – a lot of clean sheets, help my team, score some goals and win some trophies."

Konate also stands to be operating in a slightly different way when 2023/24 kicks off. A tweak in Liverpool’s tactics has already been seen, with Trent Alexander-Arnold utilised as an inverted full-back pushing into midfield towards the end of last season.

That is likely to continue and it changes the way Konate has to play the game.

"Maybe [it] made me a better player because I have to do more, because I have more space to defend. But I have a nice team to help me do this and this season let's see what will happen," he said.