Ibrahima Konate benefiting from Arne Slot's Trent Alexander-Arnold tweak

Liverpool reportedly believes that Ibrahima Konate is benefitting from Trent Alexander-Arnold's more disciplined defending under Arne Slot.

Konate has established himself as Slot's first-choice partner for captain Virgil van Dijk , appearing in all of his side's fixtures so far this season - bar the EFL Cup win over West Ham, in which he was rested.

While the French defender was culpable for Wolves' equaliser at Molineux last weekend, there is said to be an internal belief at the club that he is generally thriving because he has more support on the right side of defence from Alexander-Arnold.

Konate plays as Liverpool's right-sided center-back whenever he is paired alongside Van Dijk, and is flanked on the right side of the defence by Alexander-Arnold.

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However, while the England star's attacking ability is well-documented, over the years it has been suggested that his offensive influence comes at the cost of stability in defence.

Now, though, The Athletic says that Liverpool believes Konate is benefitting from the team having more structure than it did under Jurgen Klopp, with Slot instructing Alexander-Arnold to operate as more of an orthodox right-back.

That has meant that Konate can generally focus more on defending in his area of the pitch, whereas previously he was often required to cover for Alexander-Arnold when he had drifted further up the field.

Despite his hesitancy costing Liverpool a goal at Molineux over the weekend, he received plenty of praise from pundits for his performances this season, with Michael Owen and Micah Richards both tipping the 25-year-old for greatness.

Owen said on Premier League Productions: "Konate is already well established as a top center-half, a brilliant center-half, he's got everything, and I think he could be the future. Van Dijk is in the peak of his powers at the moment. Konate's got a bit to learn and is a bit younger as well so Iook forward to seeing him improve and maybe even get to Virgil's standard one day."

Meanwhile, Richards, appearing on Match of the Day said: "I think he's got all the tools to be a top class center-half. It's always been Van Dijk and another defender [in Liverpool's best XI in recent years]. This season started off with Jarell Quansah against Ipswich and he was brought off at half time and replaced by Konate.

"His positioning has got a lot better. You see the size of him, the frame on him, he's really good in the air, from set pieces... all these things he's tremendous at: last-ditch tackles, he can get back in, pace, no problem at all. To go to the next level now, though, if he can just concentrate a little bit more, be a little bit assured sometimes on the ball, because all the other stuff he's got in the bag."