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Wrexham defender Conor Coady has offered a theory on Ibrahima Konate's struggles at the start of this season — and he claims it has nothing to do with his Liverpool contract situation.
Konate, as things stand, will be out of contract at the end of the season. The Frenchman is yet to pen new terms at Anfield and has been linked with Real Madrid, where he could follow in the footsteps of Trent Alexander-Arnold.
But Coady believes that Konate is not playing well because of the role that he is being asked to play by Arne Slot, rather than an uncertainty surrounding his future.
"I look from a center-back's point of view and Konate is getting a bit of stick at the start of the season, let's be honest," Coady said on the BBC's Monday Night Club.
"But you've got to remember he has got to play a different way now. What I mean by that is that he's having to defend in the channel now because Jeremie Frimpong or Conor Bradley are out of position, or Dominik Szoboszlai is out of midfield.
"Teams exploited that channel and Konate has got to go out and defend and I'm telling you now, from a center-back's point of view, you do not want to go out there and defend as a right-back. It's hard.
"There's a reason you're not out there: you're not quick enough. Trent would go into midfield but I always thought he was there. He got a lot of stick for his defending but now there's no full-back in position.
"Whenever the ball is on transition, the space is vacated so Konate is having to defend in the channel with a massive space.
"I'm telling you now, no center-back wants to defend there and there's a reason you play center-back and not right-back."
In reality, though, Alexander-Arnold often left gaps at the back that Konate would have to cover. It was an accepted element of Liverpool's game with Alexander-Arnold's offensive qualities enough to justify the chances taken at the back.
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At his best, Konate was able to perform that role confidently, which was a key part of why Liverpool bought him in the first place.
Bradley, in particular, is able to sit in and hold his position much more than Alexander-Arnold did. Konate's biggest problem, really, has been in possession, where he has been sloppy at times.
Liverpool hasn't necessarily been cut wide open by teams so far — though Chelsea's winning goal came after a good move — but rather it has given up chances far too easily, either by poor passing or leaving too many gaps in midfield.
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