Dayot Upamecano may be the poster boy of RB Leipzig but, in the eyes of many, he is not even the most talented French centre-back at the Red Bull Arena.
That honour, if you believe the non-conformists and Bundesliga fanatics, goes instead to Ibrahima Konate.
Konate is the younger of the two at 21 and, according to BILD, the more expensive as well.
They report that the France U21 international has a £45 million release clause in his contract; around £5 million more than the fee Leipzig will be able to demand for Upamecano, arguably the most coveted defensive talent on the continent.
Arsenal have been linked relentlessly with Upamecano over the last 12 months but, interestingly, their focus appears to have switched to the man who tends to stand a little to the right of him in Julian Nagelsmann’s XI.
Have they spotted something special in Konate as the rest of Europe fawns over his compatriot?
“I see Ibrahim Konaté on the same level (as Upamecano),” former RB Leipzig coach Ralf Rangnick told Sport1 of two defenders he brought to Germany in 2017.
“Ibrahima’s developed brilliantly here,” Rangnick has also said, via the Bundesliga website.
“He already has a lot of experience in the Bundesliga and on the European stage. We’re convinced of his huge potential.”
There may be a rather simplistic explanation about why Konate often goes unnoticed while his fellow Frenchman hogs the limelight.
He is the Sam to Upamecano’s Frodo. Rarely the hero but the man who carries Leipzig selflessly upon his back, happy to do the dirty work without the merciless pressure that accompanies such lofty expectations.
Furthermore, while Upamecano is more, let’s say, modern in style, with his superb footwork and fine passing range, Konate is something of an old-school throwback; a powerful, aggressive, defender’s defender happy to throw his body on the line in pursuit of three points.
With that 3-0 collapse at home to Aston Villa fresh in the memory, doesn’t Konate sound like a welcome addition to an improving yet still-susceptible backline?
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