Some Liverpool players are going to have to step up under Arne Slot next season.
By and large it was a good campaign for Liverpool, with several outstanding performers.
However, there were still a handful of the Reds squad who were not quite up to standard over the course of the full season.
Supporters may worry that Jurgen Klopp leaving could plummet these players’ form to lower depths. But the change in head coach could equally revitalise some who are flagging.
That’s reportedly what insiders at Anfield believe as Slot prepares to get familiar with the team he’s inheriting.
Liverpool expecting Ibrahima Konate improvement
Everybody will be familiar with the players who should expect to be under some level of scrutiny in the early part of Slot’s reign.
One of them is certainly Darwin Nunez, who’s form dropped off a cliff towards the end of Klopp’s tenure.
With Nunez blasting a hat-trick for Uruguay on Wednesday, he looks primed to finally kick on once Slot takes the helm.
Another is Dominik Szoboszlai, who had a very different experience on international duty this week. Beaten with Hungary for the first time in a long time, Szoboszlai was called out by his manager after the game. He’ll need to improve at Liverpool as well.
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A third player who may find the spotlight on him is Ibrahima Konate. Like Szoboszlai, Konate was criticised after his international display this week, with the French media disappointed in his showing.
With Liverpool supposedly in the market for a new centre-back, Konate’s poor form has led to some question marks over his place in the starting XI. But writing in a Q&A with The Athletic, journalist James Pearce says Liverpool still hold full belief in the 25-year-old.
“Konate had a difficult end to the season as his form dipped and he lost his place in the team,” Pearce begins. “But, similar to Nunez and Dominik Szoboszlai, there’s a belief at the club that he will come back strongly next season under Slot.
“He only recently turned 25 and I’d expect Liverpool to look to extend his contract which runs until 2026. The concern with Konate has always been his injury record – he’s only made 90 appearances for the club across his three seasons. But when he’s fit and full of confidence, he’s a class act.”
Will Ibrahima Konate be a starter under Arne Slot?
It really is a shame that Konate’s form dipped quite as much as it did this season. His performance against Everton in April, for example, was comfortably Konate’s worst in a Liverpool shirt.
For most of his Reds career, the Frenchman has been a fantastic performer. Injuries have interrupted his progress, but when he’s been fit Konate has excelled.
He even had his moments in 23/24, Conor Bradley called Konate ‘unbelievable‘ after his display in the Carabao Cup final.
The questions over the former RB Leipzig man’s fitness are likely the main driver behind Liverpool’s desire to recruit a new centre-back this summer.
But with his form now an issue as well, Konate could find himself out of the team under Slot even when available.
Much will depend on who is brought in and how Ibou shows up in pre-season. With Jarell Quansah cut from the England squad though, the new head coach will be working with him from day one. Konate will only come later.
It’s a big summer ahead for Konate, hopefully he can turn it on as expected.