Liverpool unveil Ibrahima Konate's squad number

Liverpool have announced that £36m summer signing Ibrahima Konate will wear the club’s number five shirt, inheriting the jersey vacated by Georginio Wijnaldum when he moved to Paris Saint-Germain earlier in the summer.

Konate’s arrival from RB Leipzig was confirmed way back in May, but the club saved the unveiling of the 22-year-old defender’s shirt number until the launch of the new 2021/22 away kit.

Although he has never previously worn it during his career to date, number five was the obvious choice for Konate as soon as Wijnaldum’s exit as a free agent was official.

Wijnaldum took over the shirt when he joined the Reds from Newcastle in 2016, but the last centre-back to wear it §was Daniel Agger between 2005 and 2014.

Other Liverpool players to have worn five in the Premier League era include striker Milan Baros, left-back Steve Staunton and former club captain Mark Wright.

Konate will provide a much needed boost to a Liverpool defence that was ravaged by injuries last season. Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez are returning from ACL injuries, while Joel Matip missed the second half of the campaign with ankle ligament damage.

Liverpool knew they needed another centre-back as soon as Dejan Lovren was sold to Zenit St Petersburg in 2020 but gambled that defensive midfielder Fabinho was going to be sufficient extra back-up, allowing them to focus resources on other signings like Thiago Alcantara and Diogo Jota.

A long-term new signing was always on the agenda, but fans will be relieved that Konate is through the door ahead of what stands to be a pivotal season for the Reds.

Assistant coach Peter Krawietz recently expressed the club’s belief that Konate has all the potential to become world class in the coming years, describing complementary intelligence and strength.

“In England we all know what the things are they need to bring to the team: they need to be tall, they need to be quick, they need to be strong in the air and of course it’s important always for us as well that they fit in our tactical profile. In him, we see all of these qualities,” the coach said.

“He is also very, very comfortable and calm on the ball, which is so important for us and our style of football, which is to realise a really calm and safe build-up for our attacking situations. We see all these qualities in him and that is why he is such a promising and interesting package.”

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