Ibrahima Konate revealed a funny story about how he dangled the carrot of a France call-up in front of Hugo Ekitike in a bid to convince his compatriot to do some gym work at Liverpool.
Konate and Ekitike became Liverpool teammates over the summer as the Reds signed Ekitike from Frankfurt, and the pair are also teammates at international level too, after Ekitike was called up to the France senior squad for the first time in September.
Speaking to a French media channel, Konate revealed an instance at Liverpool when Ekitike said he was too tired to do some gym work, but that Konate incentivized him to go the extra mile.
"Once, I gave him a bit of a hard time, but it was funny," Konate told Canal+. "We had to go to the gym after one of the training sessions, and the intensity we put into training, it's true, it's very tough.
"And he was tired. I went to see him and I said, 'Come on, let's go to the gym now.' And he said to me, 'I'm knocked out, I'm dead.'
"Actually, we don't have to go to the gym, but it's better to go, because we're kind of 'called up.' I looked at him and for two seconds, I didn't speak to him. And I said to him, 'Do you want to go to the French national team or not?'
"A minute later, he was in the gym.
"The anecdote is a bit funny, but afterwards he quickly understood how it worked. In terms of work, he is someone who is very diligent and who will progress, I have no doubt about that."
Ekitike made his France debut during the September international break, and has appeared in four successive games for Les Bleus.
Ibrahima Konate challenges Hugo Ekitike during France training
Konate challenges Ekitike during a France training session (Image: Getty Images)
The last few months have been fruitful for Ekitike, who has been by far the most impactful of Liverpool's many big-money summer signings across the early weeks of the season.
Ekitike has scored six times in all competitions for his new club, prompting discussions over whether he should keep his place in the team even when record signing Alexander Isak returns to full fitness.
Isak has endured a stop-start period since joining Liverpool, and has not played in any of Liverpool's last five games in all competitions, although he was back in the squad for the trip to Manchester City on Sunday.