King raises his voice, Salah shows which defender he wants to replace Van Dijk

While the Reds' midfield and attacking block were the most criticised sectors for their endless failings during the 2022-2023 season, in this post-World Cup resumption of activities in Qatar the defensive scheme was not spared the bad comments after a series of failings in matches against Brentford and Wolverhampton, a 3-1 Premier League defeat to the Bess and a two-goal draw in the FA Cup third round against Wolves.

While leading man Virgil van Dijk is recovering from a hamstring injury that will keep him out of action for at least a month, Jurgen Klopp has already had to make clear decisions on who will lead the central defence, with Joel Matip more than likely to fill in for the Dutchman until his return.

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Although Ibrahima Konaté went from strength to strength at the World Cup where he finished as runner-up in the competition, the team's main leader, Mohamed Salah, does endorse and approve of his French teammate to be Van Dijk's natural replacement, seeing in the number 5 shirt the leadership potential that Joe Gomez, Joel Matip, Kostas Tsimikas and Alexander-Arnold do not have at the moment.

It is true that Konaté did not have the best of appearances in Liverpool's FA Cup tie against Wolves, but the Frenchman regularly puts in good performances that have led him not only to the starting line-up but also to being one of the most trusted men in the German manager's scheme, shouldering the heavy burden of getting through a series of important games during the remaining twenty days of January.

<strong>Salah trusts Konaté</strong>

Although the rumours of Josko Gvadriol's arrival at Liverpool are becoming more and more latent, men like Mohamed Salah continue to place their full confidence in their teammates, looking with them for a solution to all their problems and to finish the 2022-2023 campaign at least in a European competition in the Premier League and with the FA Cup and UEFA Champions League title.