Liverpool journalist James Pearce has been sharing his praise for Reds defender Ibrahima Konate and his performance for the Merseyside club during their recent 3-0 win over Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
This comes after Pearce made an appearance on a recent edition of The Athletic’s Liverpool-themed podcast The Red Agenda, where he spoke about a range of subjects concerning Jurgen Klopp’s team.
On the subject of the win against Palace, which saw goals from Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Naby Keita secure the three points for the Reds, Pearce had this to say following Konate’s first Premier League appearance this season, and his performance, in particular.
He said: “I thought it was a really, really impressive start from him.
“You can see why he was the priority for Liverpool in the transfer market this summer.
“He is the perfect fit, I think, for that high defensive line. He is so strong, but also incredibly quick.”
TIF Thoughts on James Pearce’s comments on Konate and his performance against Palace…
As Pearce mentioned, Liverpool signed Konate during the recent summer transfer window from German club RB Leipzig for a fee of £36 million, according to Transfermarkt.
Taking into account Pearce’s praise for the 22-year-old and the fact that the Liverpool Echo gave Konate a match rating of 7/10 for his display against Palace, saying that he “grew” into the game in the second half, this shows that he had a fairly positive Premier League debut.
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Given how Konate managed to keep a clean sheet in his first Premier League appearance for the Reds whilst making two tackles, one interception and three clearances in the process this should be a big confidence boost for him moving forward as part of Liverpool’s squad, in our view.