Jamie Carragher has questioned Ibrahima Konate‘s form to start the season, criticising the Liverpool centre-back as being “all over the place” so far.
Konate has struggled for form as part of a new-look defence so far this season, with there a considerably less assurance in his ability to defend large spaces and stopping counter-attacks.
Speaking as part of Sky Sports‘ coverage of Monday’s 3-2 win at Newcastle, Carragher criticised the No. 5’s role in William Osula’s equaliser for 2-2 and his performances on the whole.
That goal came from a Newcastle free-kick, lofted towards the box by Nick Pope, with Konate beaten in the air by Dan Burn.
“There’s people for Liverpool who have made a really poor start to the season. Mo Salah‘s one of them, even though he’s scored and got an assist,” Carragher began.
NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, ENGLAND - Monday, August 25, 2025: Liverpool's Ibrahima Konaté protesting his yellow card given to him by referee Simon Hooper for a foul on Newcastle United's Anthony Gordon during the FA Premier League match between Newcastle United FC and Liverpool FC at St James' Park. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
“Konate is another one. He has been all over the place.
“You want your centre-back to go and win that header [for Newcastle‘s second goal]. He’s going backward, but he still should deal with that.
“It felt like it was coming. You can’t deny that, Newcastle deserved it.
“I want my centre-back to go win that. He was all over the place last week, he’s more interested in grabbing [Dan Burn’s] arm, he was really poor in the first half as well.
“He’s not at the races at all, and I absolutely shudder to think where Liverpool would be without Virgil van Dijk, who has been absolutely outstanding in those games.”
Konate entered the summer with uncertainty over his long-term future at Liverpool and that has not changed despite ongoing talks over his contract.
The Frenchman is a target for Real Madrid, who are hopeful of signing him on a free transfer in 2026, and with a deal for Marc Guehi being pursued it seems as though a succession plan could be in place.
Liverpool will still hope to tie Konate down to a new deal, but his performances in the opening games of this season have not helped perceptions.
A major shift in setup cannot help, with Konate so far playing alongside Jeremie Frimpong, Wataru Endo, Joe Gomez, Dominik Szoboszlai and Conor Bradley at right-back over two games.
But Carragher is right to be critical of his form, particularly at a time when his representatives are reportedly seeking a pay rise to around £200,000 a week.