The Premier League season ended this past Sunday, and the summer transfer window got started on Friday. Liverpool FC got the party started by announcing the first major signing, RB Leipzig central defender Ibrahima Konate, having triggered his €41.5 million release clause.
The Reds saw this past season derailed by injuries, most extensively so in central defense. When the center back position got ravaged by injury, manager Jurgen Klopp moved some midfielders over, and before you knew, the midfield was decimated by injuries as well. So beefing up at the position was definitely Anfield’s number one priority this summer.
Accord Convenu ?
We are delighted to have reached an agreement for the transfer of @IbrahimaKonate_ from @DieRotenBullen ?
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) May 28, 2021
Konate, 22, is currently with team France preparing for the Euro. He said to the official Liverpool website: “I’m really happy to be joining such a massive club like Liverpool.
“It’s a really exciting moment for me and my family and I am really looking forward to meeting my new teammates, the staff and getting started on this new chapter.
“Right now, my focus is on the U21 European Championships with France, but after this competition I know I will be joining one of the best teams in the world and that gives me a great feeling.
“I have worked very hard for many years to get to this point, but I would like to say a big thank you to everyone at RB Leipzig and all the people I worked with there – the coaches, my teammates, the staff and especially the fans.”
Konate made 95 appearances and scored four goals over four seasons with Leipzig.
“I’m really pleased we’ve been able to add a player of Ibrahima’s quality to our squad and he is someone I’ve admired for a long time, ever since I first became aware of his potential when he was at Sochaux,” said Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.
“After the problems we had with injuries in the centre-half position last season, there’s no doubt it was clear it was an area of the team we needed to strengthen — but I first have to say that the job Nat [Philips], Rhys [Williams] and Ozan [Kabak] did was incredible.
“Unbelievable really.
“In Ibrahima we are signing a player who will add to the quality we already have here. His physical attributes are very impressive; he is quick, he is very strong and he is dominant in the air.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.