France coaches so impressed by what Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate has been doing over the international break

Add as preferred source on Google

Liverpool players have been enjoying a good time of things during the November international break.

The Reds saw 15 first-teamers head off for senior action with their countries ahead of what was expected to be a busy fortnight.

As ever, the Liverpool squad have had a mixed time of things, with some good results and some poor ones thrown in, too.

Perhaps the standout so far has been young Ben Doak for Scotland. Napoli’s Billy Gilmour has hailed Doak after the 19-year-old’s breakout performances in blue.

However, Doak is not the only one to have made the headlines. Having captained France for the first time from the start on Sunday, Ibrahima Konate is also seeing his stock rise quickly.

And after leading Les Bleus to an impressive 3-1 victory away in Italy, Konate is coming in for praise in the French press.

Ibrahima Konate pushing for France captaincy

Konate has worn the armband for France previously, having inherited it once Aurelien Tchouameni was sent off during October’s game against Belgium.

However, with Kylian Mbappe still absent, Tchouameni currently injured and N’Golo Kante left on the bench, Didier Deschamps gave Liverpool’s No.5 the nod from the start in San Siro.

Konate did not disappoint, leading the defence ably alongside William Saliba to record a 3-1 win for France. It is top-notch display in what is proving to be a very good season for Konate.

And according to French outlet L’Equipe, the 25-year-old is starting to get some momentum into being the team’s full-time captain.

READ MORE: Scottish media make worrying Andy Robertson injury claim

They claim that with Mbappe potentially set to resign from the captaincy, Tchouameni, Kante and Konate are the three candidates to take over.

It’s reported that the Liverpool defender’s ‘leadership qualities have grown on members of France’s backroom staff’, with a ‘change of dynamic’ taking place during the November camp.

Konate is said to be seen as an ‘ideal fit’ to be captain if he can finally nail down a spot in Deschamps’ XI. However, it is also noted that unless Mbappe volunteers to give up the armband, the manager will not strip him of it otherwise.

Konate’s reputation continues to grow

There is little question that Konate’s emergence as a key player for France can be a big help for Liverpool.

While it’s true that the £35m defender has played a lot of football recently and could perhaps have done with a rest in November, it is great to see him building his reputation in his homeland.

Given the presence of Saliba and Upamecano, amongst others, centre-back is a difficult spot to win in France’s team.

But Konate clearly loves playing for his national team and the added responsibility can only help him during his career at Anfield, too.

Playing regularly next to Virgil van Dijk has obviously rubbed off on Ibou and having two international captains for leading nations at centre-back is certainly a big feather in the Reds’ cap. Let’s see whether Mbappe decides to give it up and whether Konate is then first in line.