BBC pundit says ‘immense’ 24-year-old now looks like a future captain for Liverpool

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The Liverpool captaincy has been the source of renewed discussion over the past couple of weeks.

With Virgil van Dijk now fully settled into the role, there have been no suggestions of disgruntlement or anything like that. Instead, as Jordan Henderson moved to his second club in six months, there was a realisation of exactly what the former skipper had given up over the summer.

Had Henderson not pushed to leave for Al Ettifaq, he would still be Liverpool captain right now. But he did leave, and Van Dijk was the willing recipient.

Alongside vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jurgen Klopp now has a crack team leading his players and it shows. But according to BBC Sport pundit Garth Crooks, the Reds’ leadership group goes way beyond the official pair. Writing in his Team of the Week column, Crooks tipped another member of Liverpool’s back line as a future wearer of the armband.

“If Sunday’s match at Bournemouth had been a boxing match, the referee would have stopped it,” Crooks began. “The hosts never laid a glove on Liverpool, who were comfortable 4-0 winners. The Reds dominated possession, while Konate and Virgil van Dijk never gave Dominic Solanke, Justin Kluivert or Luis Sinisterra a kick.

“Konate is looking more accomplished the more I see him. He was immense against Arsenal in the FA Cup earlier this month without Van Dijk by his side, and even better against Bournemouth. He is starting to look every inch a Liverpool captain of the future.”

Konate tipped for captaincy

Unfortunately for Konate, the presence of Alexander-Arnold makes it potentially unlikely that he’ll ever be the full-time captain of Liverpool.

As long as Trent stays at the club, he’s clearly the man in line to eventually take over from Van Dijk.

But, and forgive us for looking too far into the future, the Scouser will need a second in command when that time comes. What shouldn’t that be Ibou?

The Frenchman has already grown massively in stature since arriving at Anfield in 2021. As he nails down his spot in the team as Van Dijk’s primary partner, his influence is continuing to grow.

And judging from his recent performances on the pitch, the 24-year-old is only getting better and better in terms of ability, too.

Hopefully Van Dijk still has a few years left in him both as a starting defender and as captain. But when it does come time for the Dutchman to depart, he’ll be leaving things in capable hands.

Of course, Liverpool are seemingly continuing to look for new a long-term centre-back option. As we exclusively revealed this morning, Piero Hincapie is still being actively scouted ahead of a possible summer move.

But one thing’s fore sure – whoever does come in will be playing alongside Liverpool’s No.5. Konate is the present and the future of the Reds defence. And according to Crooks, he just might be their next leader, too.