Despite winning the Premier League in the 2024/25 campaign, Liverpool is very active in the summer transfer window to strengthen their team.
The window officially opened for business on Sunday, and the club has already confirmed Dutch international Jeremy Fripon as its first signature of the year.
He went through the door as a direct replacement for Trent Alexander Arnold, who completed his move to Spanish giants Real Madrid before the Club World Cup.
Liverpool is also reportedly locked up in a contract signing Bayer Leberkusen’s Florian Wiltz.
The 22-year-old star scored 16 goals and 14 assists in all Leverkusen tournaments during the 2024/25 campaign.
These new signatures coming in could offer additional competition to Anfield’s existing star, and one player that may need to be on his toes is Ibrahi Maconate.
Why Ibrahima Conate is worried this summer
France International began 30 of its 31 appearances in the Premier League during the 2024/25 season.
However, this was not always the case with the previous RB Leipzigster. Last summer, football insiders reported that Arne Slot was not convinced by the centre back due to his performance and training on the pitch and his injury record.
That appears to have been supported by the Dutch head coach’s decision to go with Jarrell Quanza next to Van Dik before Conate on the first day with the town of Ipswich. However, the young British people endured a difficult half against Liam Dellup and were replaced by French Titans at halftime.
Conate then became a regular Premier League starter despite early concerns about his position on his part, but there were still moments that made him doubt his long-term future.
24/25 Premier League | Ibrahima Conate |
|---|---|
exterior | 31 |
start | 30 |
Success rate for ground dueling | 61% |
Success rate for air duel | 71% |
The error led to a shot | 2 |
The error led to the goal | 1 |
Statistics via Sofascore | |
As you can see from the table above, the French Colossus was largely dominated by decks and air duels, but no one knew they’d make mistakes behind them.
The club’s reporting interest in a new central defender could make him worried this summer, as the three errors lead to opposition shots and goals in the Premier League.
Liverpool is aiming for a new centre-back
According to Football Insider, the path to Liverpool’s pursuit of a contract to sign RB Leipzig central defender Castello Lukba has been cleared.
The report claims that the German side’s seventh place finish in the Bundesliga, meaning they won’t play European football next season, and that they’ve become one of their favorites to clear the path to swooping for centre-back and secure his signature.
The French star has a £74 million release clause in his contract with Leipzig, and says Liverpool is on alert after his team failed to qualify for Europe.
However, the report adds that the Premier League giants are trying to negotiate a low fee for the 22-year-old Titan to use the situation.
Konate can be interested in this news. This can make you worry about this news. This is because another centre-back arriving at Anfield this summer can create a race for his place where he can regularly see him drop out of the starting XI.
If Liverpool is able to trade through Lukeba’s line in the coming weeks or months, the slot could be centre-back in his hand, which could potentially upgrade to Van Dik’s current partner.
Why was Castello Lukeba able to replace Connecte Ibrahima?
Analyst Ben Matinson described him as the “perfect” left centre-back slash left-back hybrid.
Leipzigster’s reliability is likely to attract slots to him first and foremost. With 103 appearances in Lyon 1 and Lyon and Leipzig’s Bundesliga, the 22-year-old star has not made a single mistake that directly led to the opposition’s goals.
As for evidence, it’s no surprise that Matinson calls him “one of the best defensive prospects in world football” and “one of the best U21 centre-backs in Europe’s top five leagues.”
In comparison, Conate made five errors that led to goals in just 82 Premier League appearances.
This means that slots can resort to a £74 million rating star to deliver consistent performance without making any significant mistakes that create opportunities for the opposition.
24/25 season | Conate (Premier League) | Luke (Bundesliga) |
|---|---|---|
exterior | 31 | twenty three |
Tackle + Intercept per game | 1.8 | 2.0 |
I dribbled the past with each game | 0.3 times | 0.3 times |
Success rate for ground dueling | 61% | 65% |
Success rate for air duel | 71% | 65% |
The error led to a shot | 2 | 0 |
The error led to the goal | 1 | 0 |
Statistics via Sofascore | ||
As you can see from the table above, Lukeba averaged slightly more tackles and intercepts per game at the league level this season, but earned a higher percentage of his ground duel.
Conate appears to have an edge above him when it comes to winning an aviation duel, but Leipzig’s star isn’t weak in that regard, but overall, Liverpool’s defender comes in second best.
These statistics show that if Lukeba passes through the door, Reds Number 5 should worry about his position in Starting XI.
Slot can improve their team by signing French stars to provide a more reliable presence compared to Konate, as there are shortages of errors in Bundesliga and Ligue 1.
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