Contract rebel PROVES his commitment to Liverpool

Formal contract are important to players, and when their deals are nearly up, it's important that an agreement is reached so they remain with us. Although sometimes, commitment is more than that.

In spite of how close we got to Virgil Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah's contracts expiring last season, it was clear that they were in love with being a Red and it was only a matter of time until they renewed.

The captain said when the extension was confirmed that 'it was only Liverpool' and that's the feeling that fans need to see when they're watching on from the stands or at home on their TV screens. It's imperative that a connection is reached, because otherwise bad performances will be speculated on.

When it comes to Ibrahima Konate, it feels as though he couldn't be doing anymore to demonstrate where his heart lies. Occasionally, he's error-strewn, but he leaves his heart and soul on the pitch.

Konate's professionalism needs to be applauded

Other the last 12 months, while Liverpool have been trying to agree a new contract with the defender, we've heard very little from him about his situation. We've heard that his head is at Real Madrid and his fellow countryman Kylian Mbappe has joked about him joining him in Spain, but very little else.

In September, he replied to a post from Anfield Index on X where David Lynch is speaking about just how good a defender the Frenchman really is, in spite of the ongoing fiasco with his unresolved deal.

Beside all the noise, Konate has had a difficult season. His performances have been hyper-analysed because of his contract situation, and the defence has been more leaky than in previous years. The team's results have fallen massively short of expectations, and Konate has a lot of the criticism.

Whether this has any correlation or not is unknown, because we found out in November from David Ornstein at The Athletic that Real Madrid are no longer interested in signing him on a free transfer, an update that was difficult not to laugh at. Ruling yourself out of a free transfer is quite a statement.

Most recently, however, his level of performance has risen quite significantly and as the Daily Mail's Dominic King said on X on Saturday evening, 'amid all the noise, don't overlook positive performances'.

Against West Ham, he won seven of his nine duels, made 10 clearances and four recoveries. His clean effort in the back-line was paramount to the team earning their first clean sheet in 25 days.

That performance was backed up in midweek against Sunderland by him winning eight of his 12 duels, putting two successful tackles in and making seven clearances and three recoveries. Despite the game resulting in a 1-1 draw, the Black Cats were limited to just 0.41xg across the 90 minutes.

In the visit to Elland Road to face Leeds, there were a few mistakes that cost the team, highlighted by a penalty that was so unnecessary it was inexcusable. Apart from the critical error, which helped the Whites to a 3-3 draw, he won seven duels, made six clearances and put in four recoveries. There was a lot to like apart from the error, although of course, the discourse was predominantly negative.

But once again, he returned with a fresh mindset and stuck to his task against Inter Milan in a cagey affair. Keeping a clean sheet was paramount to Liverpool's chances of getting a result, given only Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike were the available out-and-out forwards in Slot's travelling squad.

Four his six duels were won and three clearances were made alongside two recoveries. Inter sat off the defence at times, allowing for Konate to make a successful dribble as well as five long-balls.

And then we come to yesterday, when he was arguably at his best for a long-time. Against Brighton, the levels were raised to 10 from 12 duels, two interceptions, seven clearances, two blocked shots, six recoveries, four long-balls, a successful dribble and a tackle. He was truly imperious in defence.

In not wanting to over-analyse him, it's important to recognise that the team's efforts as a whole have improved over this period of games, with Liverpool going unbeaten in their last five matches.

But everyone has to do their bit, and Konate has more than played his part. And what's most impressive about all this, beside the contract that's expiring in the distance, is the fact that Liverpool haven't had an understudy available for him - Joe Gomez has been required at right-back instead.

Defensive cover Giovanni Leoni has been sidelined since September 23, when he tore his ACL ligament against Southampton. From then, Liverpool have had three centre-backs, which has meant that Konate and Van Dijk have played every game, without getting a break since October 29.

Of course, there have been moments when fans have wished for Konate to be dropped, despite that not being a decision Slot can make without putting an inexperienced academy player in the spotlight.

But at not point has Konate complained, or pushed back at the criticism. Instead, he's used it as fuel to improve when he's next sent out on the pitch, doing the best he can. That takes guts. Everyone makes mistakes, we can all acknowledge that, but for the most part, he's been back to his usual self.

Unlike some of the allegations which Trent Alexander-Arnold faced for 'downing tools', Konate has been a true professional and he deserves a lot of credit for taking the approach that he has. It's not easy, but regardless of whether he stays or not, the bond he has with the fans has not been lost.

We can't make any assumptions about his future, but his commitment to the club is second to none.

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