Arne Slot explains how he’s been able to keep Ibrahima Konate fit for Liverpool this season

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Everything Arne Slot has touched so far at Liverpool has turned to gold as the Reds find themselves at the top of the Premier League standings.

The Dutchman has already endeared himself to the Anfield faithful with his brand of football and results haven’t been too bad either, with Liverpool winning 15 of his 17 games in charge of the club in all competitions.

A handful of players like Ryan Gravenberch and Luis Diaz – who flattered to deceive last season – have gone to another level under Slot, which is a clear sign that his methods are working.

Ibrahima Konate is another player whose stock has risen under the new manager.

And Slot knows exactly why the Frenchman has managed to keep himself fit to deliver a string of consistent displays at the back for Liverpool.

Arne Slot says Ibrahima Konate bought into his Liverpool methods

For the first Premier League game of the season, Konate was benched in favour of Jarell Quansah, who partnered Virgil van Dijk at the heart of the backline.

However, he came on at half-time in that game and has managed to keep his place in the team, starting every Premier League and UEFA Champions League since.

Slot lauded Konate for steadily improving since pre-season and singled out his efforts behind the scenes to maintain his fitness for special praise.

“First of all, it’s always about the player [and] how much effort does he put in to stay fit,” said Slot at a press conference.

“Then second of all, you’ve got the performance staff and technical staff to do the best possible thing for him to keep him fit.

“But if the player doesn’t buy into himself, it’s almost impossible for us to keep him fit. We have our ideas about how to keep a player fit and he bought into that, so until now that has gone really well for him [and] a lot of players.”

Konate in line for new contract

Konate has been in sublime form this season for Liverpool and has also impressed for France, having recently captained his country on multiple occasions in Kylian Mbappe’s absence.

With his current contract set to expire in 2026, Liverpool are in talks to extend Konate’s contract, with Fabrizio Romano confirming that it’s only a ‘matter of time’ before he puts pen to paper on an extension.

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