It’s really starting to look like Liverpool struck an unbelievable £36m bargain – RTK View

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Liverpool appear to have gotten a ridiculous bargain with Ibrahima Konaté. The Frenchman is shining at the World Cup.

Liverpool took a risk in 2020. They’d just won the Premier League and Dejan Lovren left in the summer. Despite that, they didn’t sign a new centre-back – the right player wasn’t there, so they’d try and compete with only three.

Of course, an injury crisis followed. Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip were all out for the season by the end of January. Still, Liverpool didn’t commit to a new long-term centre-back as they signed Ben Davies from Preston North End and loaned Ozan Kabak from Schalke 04.

They waited for the right player, in other words, before deciding that was Ibrahima Konaté. Liverpool met his release clause, paying £36m to RB Leipzig and signing him in the summer of 2021.

That’s the second-most Liverpool have ever paid for a defender, behind Virgil van Dijk. It was a bit of a chance to take on a young defender – especially after the crisis the Reds had just been through.

And yet, 18 months later, it looks like an unbelievable bargain.

Ibrahima Konaté was a bargain

It was clear that Liverpool found a steal last season. Konaté took his time to break into the lineup but once he did, Jurgen Klopp picked him for the UEFA Champions League final.

He then looked phenomenal in that final – we thought it was more clear than ever that Konaté was a star.

The last month, however, has seen Konaté go a step even further. Liverpool didn’t just find a great deal but they struck an unbelievable bargain.

The 23-year-old started for France in a World Cup semi-final this week and was arguably Man of the Match. How many young centre-backs could do that? Remarkably few, we’d wager, and any who did would go for £100m.

Wesley Fofana, for instance, moved to Chelsea in the summer for £75m. He’s yet to even get a France cap, let alone start for them in a World Cup semi-final.

Liverpool got someone incredibly special for £36m. And at just 23, Konaté could go on to become something even more amazing. The best defender in the world? That’s surely his future at this point.