Mark Lawrenson thinks that Ibrahima Konate needs to improve his defensive positioning for Liverpool.
Speaking to Off The Ball (6mins 50secs), Lawrenson said that despite Konate’s obvious potential, he still has a lot to learn.
“Konate is learning, we know he’s going to be good, great physique, quick enough,” said Lawro.
“I just think defensively if you watch yesterday and if you watched West Ham as well, he disappears at times from his position and as good as Van Dijk is, he can’t put his finger in the dike every time something happens.”
That feels a little harsh on Konate, but we can see where Lawro is coming from. The Frenchman does occasionally get caught a little high up the pitch. But by and large he’s been absolutely brilliant since joining for £35m last summer.
Besides, that’s what Van Dijk is there for. There can’t be a better education for a young central defender than to play alongside the world’s best.
If the 22-year-old does make an error, the Dutchman is there to make sure that it isn’t a fatal one. Regardless, you can be sure the Virgil will let him know his error and how to do better next time.
Learning from the best
As well as getting an up-close masterclass every week from Van Dijk, Konate can also look to Matip as a source of inspiration.
Lawrenson recognises that although Konate can at times do better, his learning on the job is made less of an issue by the form of the Cameroonian.
“It’s something that Konate is learning and they’ve got Matip there to play anyway, so it’s not a great issue. He’ll only get better,” said the pundit.
However, he also believes that Jurgen Klopp will be disappointed with the regularity in which Konate allows route one balls to sail over him.
“But to be beaten on a regular basis just from a ball through the middle is not good. I’m sure Jurgen knows that but Konate’s still learning I’m afraid. Fortunately yesterday they got away with a couple of issues like that ” said Lawrenson.
Again, that feels a little harsh from Lawro. It doesn’t feel as though Konate had a particular problem with balls through the middle yesterday, or throughout his Liverpool career, really.
Nobody is perfect and defenders will at times get caught out of position. But Konate is still yet to lose a game in his 19 appearances for Liverpool. Yes he has excellent players alongside him, but that doesn’t happen unless you’re doing your job more often than not.
Overall, Konate has been another superb addition for Liverpool. As Lawrenson alludes to, his physicality and pace mean that he has the tools to be a top centre-back in the years to come.
But for now, he’ll keep learning from Van Dijk, Matip and Joe Gomez to ensure he hits the heights he looks like he can reach.
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