Of the three key Liverpool stars who are out of contract at the end of the season, Virgil van Dijk is the one who has given the clearest indication that he wants to extend his stay on Merseyside.
Van Dijk said in September that he wants to remain at the club until at least the 2026 World Cup. Then, last month he provided an update on negotiations: “I can say obviously discussions are ongoing, but I don’t know, we will see what happens in the future. My full focus is on Liverpool, wanting to win games that are ahead of me and nothing else. What the future will bring I have no idea at the moment. I can only tell you that discussions have been started and we will see.”
Aged 33, the end of Van Dijk’s playing career is clearly nearer than the beginning of it, yet, right now, he remains one of the very best center-backs in the world and a key part of Liverpool’s squad.
However, were Van Dijk to leave this summer — although that seems unlikely — Liverpool might not be in as perilous a situation as it might have been had he left a few years ago.
And that’s because of the emergence of Ibrahima Konate, who is enjoying by far the best period of form in his career and showing why so much was expected of him when Liverpool signed him from RB Leipzig three years ago.
Up until this season, Konate was very much a squad player — and of course, he started this campaign on the bench — but he has lined up in Liverpool’s last 14 matches across the Premier League and the Champions League, cementing his place in Arne Slot’s side.
At 25, Konate is a year younger than Van Dijk was when he made the switch from Southampton to Liverpool in January 2018, and although he has some way to go to match the impact of his defensive partner at Anfield, he is clearly making significant strides.
Konate is perhaps the best centre-back partner that Van Dijk has had at Liverpool, and this week he took another step forward in his development, captaining France for the first time.
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The Parisian donned the armband for a 3-1 win over Italy in the Nations League in the absence of Kylian Mbappe and is reportedly in contention to be named permanent captain should Mbappe decide that he no longer wants to skipper Les Bleus.
Didier Deschamps and his backroom staff are said to have been impressed by Konate’s leadership skills, with L’Equipe saying he is viewed as a perfect fit for the role.
Those skills are something he perhaps doesn’t have to show as often at Liverpool, with established leaders like Van Dijk, Alisson, Andy Robertson, and Trent Alexander-Arnold in his immediate vicinity on the pitch, but the fact that Konate’s leadership in one of the best international squads in the world is valued so highly bodes well for the future — for his club as well as his country.
