Liverpool assistant manager Peter Krawietz claims to see "world-class" potential in Ibrahima Konate, with a £36 million ($50m) addition at Anfield being backed to make an immediate impact.
Jurgen Klopp has moved to bolster his defensive ranks during the summer transfer window after being left alarming short in that area by an unfortunate run of injuries in 2020-21.
Promising Frenchman Konate is considered to be a "proper centre-half" in the Premier League mould, with the 22-year-old expected to slot seamlessly into the Reds' ranks.
What has been said?
Krawietz has told Liverpool's official website of a hot prospect: "In him we see the absolute potential to develop into a world-class centre-half. That’s what we want.
"He is a young player still, but also experienced. He played a few years in the German Bundesliga and for several of the French national teams.
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"His qualities are pretty obvious. He is a smart centre-half in terms of defending and of course he has the physical body to be a proper centre-half.
"In England we all know what the things are they need to bring to the team: they need to be tall, they need to be quick, they need to be strong in the air and of course it’s important always for us as well that they fit in our tactical profile. In him, we see all of these qualities.
"In defending, he was well educated in Leipzig and we saw that he will be able to learn all the details we want from our centre-halves.
"He is also very, very comfortable and calm on the ball, which is so important for us and our style of football, which is to realise a really calm and safe build-up for our attacking situations. We see all these qualities in him and that is why he is such a promising and interesting package.
"Now we are very much looking forward to adding him to our group of centre-halves. We are very, very positive about him and very optimistic about the development he will need to do. It will be a process to learn all these things, but his quality and talent are so obvious."
Who will Konate be competing with?
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Liverpool have sanctioned a loan return to Preston for Sepp van den Berg and are expected to listen to offers - either short-term or permanent - for Rhys Williams, Ben Davies and Nat Phillips.
Konate will, however, face fierce competition for places on Merseyside when everyone is fit.
Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, who both suffered knee ligament damage last season, are edging their way back into contention.
Joel Matip is another experienced option at Klopp's disposal, but squad depth is key for any ambitious outfit.
Konate will be eager to make the most of any opportunities he does get in 2021-22, with Liverpool set to open their campaign with a trip to newly-promoted Norwich on August 14.
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