Virgil van Dijk knows 'remarkable' Ibrahima Konate is destined for the top

Virgil van Dijk is absolutely convinced that Ibrahima Konate is destined for the top of the game. The Liverpool defender is a huge talent.

Virgil van Dijk talked up Ibrahima Konate in his lengthy interview with France Football this week. The Liverpool captain was asked for his thoughts on the Frenchman - and had only the highest praise.

"Ibrahima is already a very, very good player," he said. "He is still learning, but he is progressing quickly.

"And the way he plays already at his age [24] is truly remarkable. It's a real pleasure to be able to work with him, to be around him every day, to see him improve a little more every day.

"I'm really happy with everything that's happening to him. I really think he can become one of the best defenders in the world."

Konate can certainly become that. In fact, only a couple of poorly-timed injuries have prevented him from reaching that level already. His form in the latter half of the 2021/22 season was extraordinary for a young player in his first campaign at Liverpool.

But injuries did happen and took away Konate's momentum. Now he's managing to put games together again, though - and the result is a player who's making a fantastic impact on the side.

This is especially important as Joel Matip won't play again this season. He may not play for Liverpool again, given his contract expires in the summer. Now is the moment that Konate was essentially bought for - to step up and replace the Cameroonian long-term.

He's shown up to now that he's fully capable of doing that, as long as he can stay fit. The talent is absolutely there to be one of the absolute best in the world and there's no better player to learn alongside than Van Dijk.