League leaders Liverpool are chasing their second PL title and GW23 onwards, embark on an enviable run of fixtures till GW25. Moreover, they have a double gameweek in gameweek 24, the first of the season. And apart from Bournemouth, none of the rest seem to pose any serious challenge to Slot’s men — Ipswich Town(H), Everton(A), and Wolves(H).
Hence, there are reasons enough for FPL managers to jump on the Liverpool assets right away. Salah(£13.7m) is on a mission to tear apart all FPL records and is a must-own now.
Then you have Gakpo(£7.4m), who looks to be an impressive option in the frontline. Or maybe TAA(£7.2m) as someone who offers you two different routes for points. There is VVD(£6.4m) too, who is also having a solid season. Luis Diaz(£7.5m) can be another handy option.
But … (there is always a but in FPL) budget constraints might not allow you to sign the popular defensive options, as both Arnold and van Dijk are pricey assets. However, Ibrahima Konate(£5.1m) might be your solution-pick. He can be a budget-key to the Liverpool defence, where he has cemented himself as a key player in the new era under Arne Slot.
Liverpool has four matches in the next three gameweeks and except Bournemouth who are looking dangerous with Justin Kluivert spearheading their attack, the rest of the games should fetch clean sheet points. And Konate appears the cheapest and most viable route to Slot’s steady defence, which remains the side to concede the least number of goals in the current season.
If you have a look at Konate’s numbers in Fantasy Premier League 2024-25, it looks moderate; rather, average — 55pts with six clean sheets. However, there is a story behind every story. Konate had to sit on the sidelines from GW13 to GW19 due to his damaged knee.
Jarell Quansah had a breakout season in 2023-24, which also marked Klopp’s swansong. However, just after 45 minutes into the new season, the Liverpool academy graduate had to depart as Konate replaced him. Since then, Ibrahima has started every single match, barring the seven games when he was out with a knee injury.
The fact that Slot slotted him in place of Gomez, who pulled up his hamstring, while Konate was still nursing his knee injury and relied on painkillers to play, speaks a lot about the Dutchman’s reliance on the French centre-back. Even during Liverpool’s last UCL night, in which they edged past Lille, the France international was rested keeping in mind the weekend fixture against Wolves in the PL.
Therefore, getting hold of Konate before GW23 seems quite plausible an idea, something which is likely to give you nice dividends. Just before we sign off, Konate might not have the same amount of attacking threat compared to Arnold, but he stills has a goal and an assist in the Fantasy Premier League 2024-25.
