Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate has enjoyed a productive start to his season, swiftly reclaiming the starting spot from Jarell Quansah and impressing on the way to two Premier League clean sheets. But his attention has been caught by a "crazy" teammate higher up the pitch .
Restored to the lineup against Brentford for the first home game of the season, Konate put in a strong display. His highlight was an intercepting header as Kristoffer Ajer looked set to pounce on a mismatch with Trent Alexander-Arnold at the back post.
Now 25, there is increasing pressure on Konate to step up and become a mainstay under Arne Slot . However, there are still players within the squad whom he looks up to as role models.
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Virgil van Dijk is an obvious teammate for Konate to learn from, with the Frenchman lucky to be playing alongside one of the best exponents of the position the game has ever seen. However, it's Mohamed Salah who he singled out for special praise after the recent victory.
"This guy is crazy! I'm a very big fan of Mo," Konate told Liverpoolfc.com . "It's crazy, every season it's always the same story. "Even when he goes to the Africa Cup [of Nations] he has a lot of goals. I don't understand how he does that really. He's a big inspiration for me because I saw it every day how he works and I want to be like him."
Salah scored the decisive second goal against Brentford, reprising the match-clinching role he played against Ipswich. He looks set to be just as central to the Slot regime as he was under Jurgen Klopp , although Liverpool will need to resolve his contract situation at some point.
The club site notes that Salah averages a goal contribution per game at Anfield in the Premier League, scoring 93 times and assisting a further 35 in 128 outings. The 31-year-old is a paragon of consistency.
Liverpool.com says: The younger players in this Liverpool squad have some of the best role models possible. Salah might just top the lot, with his indefatigable work ethic and constant drive to improve himself.
The numbers he has posted ever since arriving at Anfield defy belief. Konate is right about them being crazy: Salah has the most goal involvements of any player in the Premier League since joining, and that's still true even if you take away his record-breaking 2017/18 campaign.
The start he has made to the new season is very encouraging, even if it shouldn't be at all surprising. Salah certainly doesn't look like a player a year away from a major decline, something for the club to consider as it ponders the contract decision.
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