Author: Soccerhuz
Ibrahima Konate has told Virgil van Dijk he wants to eclipse the Dutchman’s impact at Liverpool – but admits pantomime villain Sergio Ramos was his role model when growing up. Konate has forged a burgeoning reputation since moving from RB Leipzig to Anfield in the summer of 2021 in a £36million deal, helping the Reds win the League Cup and FA Cup while also starting the Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid. The 24-year-old has featured regularly at centre-back alongside skipper Van Dijk, who was a mainstay in the Liverpool side under Jurgen Klopp that was crowned champions of England, Europe and…
Liverpool centre back Ibrahima Konate has claimed his goal is to have a ‘better career’ than teammate Virgil van Dijk. The 24-year-old is now in his third season at Liverpool and is widely regarded as one of the best young defenders in the world. However, fitness issues have stopped him from fully establishing himself as a first-choice centre back under Jurgen Klopp. The former RB Leipzig star has yet to play more than 18 league games in a season, and has struggled with a hamstring injury so far in 2023/24. That knock forced him to drop out of France duty during the last round…
Liverpool are likely to try signing a new centre-back in 2024, with three players already being monitored, according to LFC writer Neil Jones in his exclusive Daily Briefing column. The Reds are said to have taken a look at Portuguese duo Antonio Silva and Goncalo Inacio, as well as Bayer Leverkusen defender Piero Hincapie, though it’s not clear if moves for any of these players will come in January or next summer. Liverpool currently have issues at the back as both Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip look to be past the peak of their powers, so there’s surely room for top young players…
Chief refereeing officer Howard Webb has spoken out on the VAR debacle that led to Luis Diaz’s goal against Tottenham being incorrectly disallowed. Diaz’s legitimate strike in Liverpool’s highly-contentious defeat to Spurs was ruled out for offside by the on-field officials, while a communication error stopped the VAR from correcting referee Simon Hooper’s initial decision. The blunder was put down to ‘significant human error’ by refereeing body the PGMOL, who also released audio footage between Hooper, VAR Darren England and AVAR Dan Cook showing how the embarrassing incident occurred. Liverpool ultimately lost the game 2-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Joel Matip’s stoppage-time…
A CANDID EXPLORATION INTO THE DEPTHS OF VAR CONTROVERSY In the intricate ballet of football, where every goal is a crescendo, the recent VAR debacle during the Tottenham and Liverpool match has struck a dissonant chord in the symphony of the sport. Howard Webb, behind the PGMOL, steps into the limelight, not to bask in applause but to dissect the erroneous note that has reverberated through the football community. THE UNSEEN BURDEN OF THE WHISTLE Webb, with a demeanor reflecting both authority and regret, shared insights on Match Officials: Mic’d Up, navigating through the turbulent waters of one of this…
Tottenham Hotspur midfielder James Maddison has claimed that he’s become ‘good friends’ with Trent Alexander-Arnold. Maddison and Alexander-Arnold were on opposite ends of one of the Premier League’s worst ever officiating decisions recently, as Spurs beat Liverpool. Since then, the Tottenham man has been trolling Liverpool’s right-back on Instagram. The two players exchanged some cheeky remarks having met up with England yesterday. Asked by TalkSPORT about what he’s been saying to Trent during national team training, Maddison insisted it was just a case of ‘banter’ between friends. “Nah, the conversation wasn’t anything to do with that [Liverpool vs Tottenham],” he claimed. “Just having…
The Rugby World Cup is on at the moment, and, as you can imagine, it’s the talk of the sporting world right now. Even in football, a few rugby-related questions are leaking into interviews and social media posts, and now, Trent Alexander-Arnold has been asked about rugby. Speaking on Premier League Productions, Alexander-Arnold was asked which of his current Liverpool teammates would make the best rugby player, and he named Ibrahima Konate as the one player in the squad he thinks has what it takes to switch sports. Konate could play rugby Alexander-Arnold spoke about the £35m player. “Who out of your teammates would make…
PGMOL chief Howard Webb took part in Sky Sports‘ ‘Match Officials: Mic’d Up’ show with the supposed intention of providing more clarity, but is he really just digging the officials a bigger hole? When things go wrong in football we often ask for transparency in the hope that it will lead to improvements and, at least, offer fans insight into how decisions are reached – rightly or wrongly. The VAR audio released in the wake of the Luis Diaz offside ordeal at Tottenham was a step in the right direction, but it certainly didn’t make us feel any better about it. It was exactly as chaotic as…
Trent Alexander-Arnold has made a surprise claim over the toughest winger he faced that may have gone forgotten, with the winger now a free agent. The Liverpool vice-captain took part in the club’s ‘We Are Liverpool’ podcast to kick off season two, in an in-depth interview alongside Jan Molby. Among the questions Alexander-Arnold faced was ‘who was the best player he faced that people wouldn’t know about’, with the right-back opting for an opponent from his academy days. “I would say Brandon Barker,” was his reply. “He played for City, I was [an] U18s [player]. I played for U21s, first ever…
Liverpool have been urged to sign Napoli sensation Khvicha Kvaratskhelia should Mo Salah leave Anfield. The Egyptian forward has been strongly linked with a move away from the club over the past year. Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad were interested in signing him in the summer and had a series of bids rejected by Liverpool. Talk over an exit has not subsided and former Reds star Stephen Warnock has suggested that Kvaratskhelia could be an ideal replacement should Salah be sold. Speaking to talkSPORT, he said: “Everyone’s replaceable. I’ve said it about Suarez, I’ve said it about Coutinho, and he [Salah] will be replaceable in time.…