Liverpool found their feet once again during Jurgen Klopp's final campaign at the helm. The 2022/23 season brought a fierce storm down on Anfield and ended an eight-year marriage with the Champions League but sweeping summer changes painted a -red-gold sky over the city.
However, despite winning the Carabao Cup in February, Liverpool were a day late and a dollar short in the Premier League title race, pulled away from a gripping three-horse race after a gloomy April plummet that also saw Klopp felled by Atalanta in the Europa League quarter-finals, eventual champions and conquerers over 51-games-unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen in the final, who for their part were inches away from immortality.
Liverpool might have appeared to have bungled their hopes of silverware in the biggest competitions but Klopp's announcement that he was stepping down, back in January, put the squad under a microscope and in hindsight, the campaign was one of progress and potential.
Enter Arne Slot, who must now take the framework left by his predecessor and sculpt the team into a position of power, capable of finishing first in the top flight, of wading deep into the Champions League and fighting for the trophy.
The Dutchman has an immensely talented team to pick from, though there's a pressing concern in the lack of depth at centre-back, with a fresh signing required to ensure that Ibrahima Konate does not start the 2024/25 season as Virgil van Dijk's chief partner.
Ibrahima Konate's season in numbers
Make no mistake, Konate is a high-quality defender who stepped up commendably following Joel Matip's season-ending ACL injury back in December. The Cameroonian has now departed Anfield amid the end of his contract.
The France international was described as a "monstrous" talent earlier in 2024 by writer Leanne Prescott and indeed there is little indication that Liverpool do not boast one of the most athletically imposing, technically impressive defenders in the division, but Konate is marred by lapses in form and an injury track record that leaves plenty to be desired.
As per FBref, Konate ranks among the top 5% of central defenders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for passes attempted and progressive passes, the top 8% for progressive carries, the top 11% for successful take-ons, the top 16% for shot-creating actions, the top 10% for tackles and the top 2% for aerial duels won per 90.
This is an illustration of an elite clutch of core attributes, but Konate has been culpable of failing to mesh it all together in recent weeks and has thus lost his place in the starting line-up, benched for seven of Klopp's final ten Premier League fixtures.
The 6 foot 4 titan was at the epicentre of that weary spring spell that saw Liverpool fail in their bid for Premier League title success, inexcusable during his team's loss against Atalanta, with The Athletic's James Pearce remarking that he was "dreadful".
To compound the 24-year-old's struggles, pundit and Liverpool icon Jamie Carragher said: "Konate has been so poor. Liverpool need to buy a centre-back in the summer."
Why Slot must ditch Konate from the starting XI
It's incredible that Van Dijk maintained such imperious levels throughout the year despite seeing his peers drop like flies around him. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson both spent spells on the sidelines, Matip's season was severed and Konate only started 17 times in the Premier League.
The emergence of Jarell Quansah mitigated such issues, with the 21-year-old looking every bit the talent fit for long-term purposes on Merseyside's red half, called up to Gareth Southgate's provisional European Championship squad for England this week.
The fact that Quansah finished the year on top, starting alongside his Dutch captain for eight of the club's final 11 games of the league campaign, speaks of where Klopp's heart lay, but sure there will be a tussle for a regular starting berth when Slot starts to build his team.
Matches played
22
17
Matches started
17
13
Goals
0
2
Clean sheets
5
2
Pass completion
88%
89%
Recoveries per game
4.4
4.2
Tackles per game
1.6
1.5
Clearances per game
2.3
2.3
Duels won per game
6.0 (66%)
4.5 (64%)
Errors leading to goal
1
1
The table above shows that Konate and Quansah have performed at a relatively similar level, and while both are blessed with natural skills and front-footed defensive techniques, Carragher is right in demanding that Slot, Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes pull no punches in augmenting the backline with an addition of real quality.
There have been myriad rumours shooting about, with Lille defender Leny Yoro, who is 18 years old, one of the recent names to enter circulation, according to French outlet Le Parisien, with Slot seeking to rival Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain for the prodigious talent.
Given that Konate earns £70k per week, more than both Luis Diaz (£55k per week) and Curtis Jones (£15k per week) combined, it would seem that he should be cementing a spot in the starting line-up with consistency, now four seasons on from joining from RB Leipzig in a £36m deal.
But he's proven that he can't be trusted as the leading man next to his skipper. Diaz might be wasteful in front of goal but he is indefatigable, maintaining a ferocious presence down Liverpool's left channel and starting every single one of Liverpool's Premier League games since the start of January.
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Based on that evidence, the Colombian is earning his salary and then some. Konate will need to lift his game to another level if he wishes to renew his terms and match his innate ability with product on the pitch.
But whatever happens, Slot would make a grave error in entering his maiden campaign on Merseyside without addressing the need to bolster the backline and restore Liverpool's defence to its one-time formidability.