Jurgen Klopp made Ibrahima Konate wait for his Liverpool debut as the German felt the defender needed more time to adapt to his tactical demands, according to The Athletic.
The Reds brought Konate to Anfield this summer after activating a £36m release clause in the centre-back’s RB Leipzig contract. He was Klopp’s only addition during the off-season window, but has faced a slow start on Merseyside.
Konate only made his debut as Liverpool beat Crystal Palace on Saturday to extend their unbeaten start to the season. Klopp had left the 22-year-old on the bench for each of the Reds’ prior four Premier League games. He was also an unused substitute against AC Milan on the opening night of the Champions League Group Stage campaign.
Klopp was slow to hand Konate his Liverpool debut as the German felt he needed more time adapting in training. The Reds boss was loath to throw the £70k-a-week enforcer into the action too early and not understand his system.
Instead, he trusted Joel Matip with partnering Virgil van Dijk over the opening month of the term. Joe Gomez also replaced Van Dijk against AC Milan, with Klopp reluctant to overuse the Dutchman after almost a year on the sidelines following knee ligament surgery.
Klopp reassured Konate throughout his time on the fringes that chances to show why he was Liverpool’s top-target would come. But held off on debuting the Frenchman as he felt the Reds would benefit more from the established relationship Van Dijk and Matip have.
Matip did not feature on Saturday as Klopp wanted to rest the Cameroonian after facing AC Milan in midweek. He will likely make changes defensively against Norwich in the Carabao Cup ahead of facing Brentford and Porto, too.
Was Klopp right to introduce Konate to Liverpool squad slowly?
Konate likely expected to arrive at Liverpool and be an instant part of Klopp’s defence this summer. Yet the Frenchman has only played 90 minutes across all competitions to date after debuting against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Klopp will feel he was right to introduce Konate to his backline slowly, given how the Reds have started. The Merseyside natives are unbeaten over their six fixtures so far and have only conceded once in five league games.
Liverpool also conceded twice against AC Milan after changing their backline for the first time this term. Klopp will hope Konate can now continue building his rapport with Van Dijk after a promising first 90 minutes together.
Konate kept a lid on Wilfried Zaha, Christian Benteke and Odsonne Edouard with his pace and strength too much. The Frenchman’s aerial threat also came to the fore on Saturday, which should now blend well with Klopp’s desired system.
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