As in-form Ibrahima Konate returns to Premier League leaders Liverpool having captained France and with talks open over a new Anfield contract, some words of advice from Zlatan Ibrahimovic might just be ringing in his ears

Zlatan Ibrahimovic speaks to Ibrahim Konate after Liverpool's Champions League win over AC Milan at the San Siro in December 2021(Image: Pier Marco Tacca/AC Milan via Getty Images)

If Arne Slot is looking to begin assessing the positives from his fledgling weeks at Liverpool, the head coach will likely start at the back, where the team have made their best-ever start to a campaign from a defensive standpoint.

Only two other seasons have seen the Reds ship just two goals from their opening seven games, with the 2007-08 and 1977-78 terms also bringing five clean sheets from the first couple of months.

Not only that, they also rank top of the table for fewest opposition touches in their penalty area (122), while their xGA (Expected Goals Against) sits at 5.17, which is a league high too.

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If defending well is always systemic and achieved via a collective effort, a largely settled and consistent back five has been undoubtedly aided by the return to form of Ibrahima Konate, who, alongside his captain Virgil van Dijk, has been one of the standout Premier League performers at centre-back so far.

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Statistics pulled from Opta's Michael Reid during the international break have highlighted just how good the France international has been in the opening weeks.

Columns such as passing accuracy (91.5%), clearances-per-90 (3.8), headed clearances-per-90 (2.5) and blocks-per-90 (0.8) are all currently the highest so far during his four seasons with Liverpool.

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A duel success rate of 75% and an aerial success rate of 86.2% both standout as particularly impressive figures also.

It's been Konate's strongest start to a season since he traded RB Leipzig for Anfield in the summer of 2021, with just the opening 45 minutes of the win at Ipswich Town in mid-August the only football he has missed.

With 749 minutes played so far across the Premier League and Champions League, Konate is even adding goals and assists to his game with two headers already coming away at AC Milan and Wolves last month, with an assist for Luis Diaz at Anfield in the 3-0 win over Bournemouth sandwiched in between.

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It's a small sample size but there is an argument to be made that Konate is in the best form of his Liverpool career and after ending the last term out of the team and on the bench, the return to his peak has been a huge part in why Slot has been able to start life on Merseyside so serenely.

At international level, Konate's importance and influence is growing further and the 25-year-old was under consideration to take the captain's armband over the break before it was eventually given to Real Madrid's Aurelien Tchouameni.

When the los Blancos midfielder was substituted in the 4-1 victory over Israel, Konate was given the captaincy and was praised in French media for his "charisma and personality", helping to set a harmonious mood in the les Bleus camp.

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He also skippered the side for the 2-1 victory over Belgium on Monday after Tchouameni was sent off in the second half and it is clear that his standing is growing considerably back in his homeland.

The fact that talks have opened between the Reds and the defender's CAA Stellar representatives over a new deal is further evidence that his best years are approaching.

And, given Konate's happiness on Merseyside, it is not thought that negotiations will become protracted as sporting director Richard Hughes looks to tie down a first-choice centre-half for the long haul.

Presently, then, Konate will feel as though he is on the cusp of fulfilling the sort of potential that made the Reds firm in their belief that they had signed one of the best young centre-backs on the continent when was brought in for £36m over three years ago.

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But it is not just Liverpool's private predictions that are seemingly coming true.

Konate was just months into his Anfield career when a commanding performance alongside Nat Phillips in a much-changed Liverpool team saw Jurgen Klopp's men beat AC Milan in the San Siro in December 2021.

The performance was so impressive that it even prompted the famously self-serving Zlatan Ibrahimovic to impart some words of praise elsewhere, with the then Milan striker saying: "I asked to exchange shirts with Liverpool defender Konate.

I told him that he will be a great defender in the future and that he remembers my words well."

As an in-form Konate now prepares to return to club duty with the Premier League leaders having captained France twice, he may well indeed be remembering Ibrahimovic's words well.