Virgil van Dijk is undoubtedly one of Liverpool’s most important players.
Indeed, Van Dijk is a Liverpool legend, and according to some, Van Dijk is the best defender in the world.
Van Dijk may be the best defender on the planet, but one of his Liverpool teammates is aiming to overtake the Dutchman.
Indeed, speaking to Sky Sports, Ibrahima Konate has been discussing Van Dijk’s ability, and he says that he will be better than the Liverpool captain at some point in the future.
Konate says that Van Dijk is a special player, but he genuinely believes that with the right amount of hard work, he will be better than his captain.
Ibrahima Konate says he’ll be better than Virgil van Dijk
Konate vowed to continue to work hard to improve, claiming that he will eventually be better than Virgil van Dijk.
Konate has earned a lot of praise this season, and he believes that one day he can be on Van Dijk’s level.
“With Virgil we know how good he is, how special he is, what he’s been doing for years. He’s so good. Like I’ve said previously, I will be better than you one day, that’s why I work very hard everyday to achieve this,” Konate said.
“It’s crazy how many Man of the Match he gets this season. It’s very good to play with Virg, but sometimes people who watch the game they think it’s only Virgil who plays. I’m not jealous, but watch the game and it will tell you the truth. “
Ibrahima Konate compared to Virgil van Dijk
Konate wants to become as good as Van Dijk one day, and when you look at the stats, it’s clear to see where Konate needs to step up to be considered on the same level.
Indeed, statistically, Van Dijk does outperform Konate in some key areas.
| Virgil van Dijk | Ibrahima Konate | |
|---|---|---|
| 1.2 | Tackles per game | 1.3 |
| 1.5 | Interceptions per game | 0.4 |
| 3.7 | Long balls per game | 1.5 |
| 3.1 | Aerial duels won per game | 2.6 |
| 0.2 | Dribbled past per game | 0.4 |
If Konate wants to be considered as good as Van Dijk, he needs to read the game better, and be a bit more expansive with his passing range, as well as being more dominant aerially.
Luckily, at the age of just 25, Konate has tons of room to continue to grow and improve. After all, at Konate’s age, Van Dijk was playing for Southampton, so in terms of developmental trajectory, Konate is ahead of where Van Dijk was at the same age.
Don’t be shocked if Konate does establish himself as one of the world’s best in the coming years.
