Liverpool kicked off their summer spending with a £36 million deal for Ibrahima Konate on Friday.
The big French centre-back becomes Liverpool’s first signing in a transfer window that should see further reinforcements arrive.
Konate adds to the Reds’ already-impressive list of central defenders.
The 22-year-old will compete with Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip next season, while it Nat Phillips may even still be on Merseyside by then too.
The former RB Leipzig powerhouse is gearing up for his first game since joining Liverpool.
France take on their Dutch equivalent in the quarter-final of an Under-21 European Championship this evening.
Here’s how Liverpool fans responded to the new boy going into that clash:
Curse?
You can understand the fans’ desire to see him come out of the tournament unscathed.
Liverpool’s season is over, but that doesn’t mean that the curse of injured centre-backs has lifted.
Van Dijk and Gomez haven’t kicked a ball for the Reds since October, Matip since January, but hopefully for the Anfield club this was all just a case of bad luck – horrendous bad luck, but still a matter of fortune.
And luck generally balances itself out and Liverpool fans will be hoping that’s the case in terms of fitness next season.
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