Liverpool could reunite Ibrahima Konate with PERFECT partner to REPLACE Virgil van Dijk

Liverpool are reportedly interested in signing a former teammate of Ibrahima Konate.

The club are on a mission to bolster the Reds' option in defence, especially with the uncertainty surrounding the future of Virgil van Dijk.

It is still not yet known whether the Liverpool captain will sign a new long-term contract with the club upon the expiry of his current deal at the end of the season.

In preparation for the worst-case scenario, Liverpool have started to prepare for alternative solutions and exploring the market for players who could replace Van Dijk in the transfer market.

Why Loic Bade is the perfect Virgil van Dijk successor

One of the players Liverpool are reportedly interested in signing is Loic Bade. Now at first glance the Sevilla defender doesn't seem like an obvious replacement for Van Dijk.

Bade has played most of his career as a right-sided centre-back. He is right-footed and seems to be more comfortable in that position.

But he is also someone who is capable of playing on the left. During his last stint in Ligue 1 while playing for Rennes, Bade was often used in the left-sided centre-back role and he flourished catching the attention of Sevilla and earning a lucrative move.

And now he's become one of the best defenders in La Liga, winning 78.79 per cent of his defensive duels in the league according to Wyscout.

On top of his defensive prowess, the Sevilla man is really comfortable on the ball and would be tailormade for Arne Slot's possession heavy system.

Bade is still only 24 years old and in the prime of his career. He's someone with an abundance of potential and the cherry on the cake would be that he's an ideal partner for Konate.

The pair of them will know each other well.

After all they came through the Paris FC academy at the same time. Bade was part of the 2000-born generation. Meanwhile, Konate was with the 1999-born one.

That added chemistry could make Bade the perfect replacement for Van Dijk.

However, Liverpool will hope things will not have to escalate to that.

The preferred solution will be to keep their captain at the club for the foreseable future.