Jurgen Klopp Ibrahima Konate Liverpool GFXGetty Images

'When Klopp calls, you listen!' - Konate on Liverpool move & the differences between Premier League and Bundesliga

Ibrahima Konate has discussed his decision to join Liverpool, revealing the initial conversations with Jurgen Klopp that convinced him to come to Anfield.

Konate moved to Liverpool from RB Leipzig in the summer and has been eased into the lineup, having made 17 appearances so far in all competitions.

The 22-year-old defender has largely been behind Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip in the pecking order, but he says that Klopp convinced him that he will have a big part to play at Liverpool.

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What did Konate say?

"Yes, I spoke with him two or three times," Konate told Sky Sports. "If Jurgen Klopp calls you, you think a lot about this! He does not call you for nothing!

"But we speak a lot, about me, my private life, about him also, the club, the mentality of the players, everything.

"It is not just me and him, you know, it is about everything I take this decision - the mentality of the club, the players with whom I will work every day, about the city, about everything and with this, I made my decision."

"I asked him if I will play or not," Konate added, "and he said, 'yes, you will play.' He did not tell me, 'yes you will play a lot like you are the first defender, or you will not play a lot like you are the last defender.'

"But it was always like that with me - when I was with Sochaux, when I go to Germany, the coach never told me, 'Yes you will play a lot.'

"No, it is always with me, I train a lot and after step by step, I win my place and why not with Liverpool I cannot do this? And this is good, as after this, I will work a lot."

Life in the Premier League

Konate also opened up on the differences between life in the Premier League and the Bundesliga.

The defender said the competitive level of the Premier League is something he's never seen as every game is a true battle.

"Of course - everybody says this," he said. "You see this on the TV, but when you are on the pitch, it is more and more and more crazy.

"You do not have a bad team, if I can say this with respect for every team in the Bundesliga, but sometimes in the Bundesliga you play against a team and you know you will win.

"But here you never know - you play against the side last in the table, but it will be as difficult as if you were playing against the team who are first, you know?

"And this is crazy in the Premier League, the intensity and power of the teams, the mentality, the fans, everything is crazy here."

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