Thomas Siniecki, Media365: published on Tuesday October 8, 2024 at 10:21 a.m.
Ibrahima Konaté once again becomes the natural candidate alongside William Saliba in the hinge, in view of events.
Once again, poor Dayot Upamecano has a timing that will certainly not suit him. Rarely starting with Bayern, he experienced an intense Sunday during the clash in Frankfurt (3-3) since he was guilty but also a scorer, before this thigh injury which therefore forced him to withdraw from the French team . If William Saliba has established himself since the Euro and remains the only one to really confirm in club, it was alongside his Bavarian sidekick and it is the latter who offered the most guarantees and a priori kept a length in advance in the mind of Didier Deschamps.
Fofana can also play big
For this gathering of all dangers, the replacement option is clear: Ibrahima Konaté still has a big chance to play to return to favor in the eyes of the coach, he who formed the hinge with Upamecano before being blown away by Saliba, the fault of his performances at the end of last season and especially his lack of playing time at Liverpool. Which, according to the famous theory of “communicating vessels” often taken up by Didier Deschamps himself, increased at the start of the 2024-2025 financial year while that of Upamecano decreased drastically at the end of last season…
But the former Leipzig player was reinstated by Vincent Kompany, so much so that he had not missed a single minute in the Bundesliga and Champions League. He played against Belgium last month in the Nations League (2-0) while Ibrahima Konaté attempted a rather unsuccessful recovery against Italy (1-3), which continued to go his way . The latter, too, has played everything with the Reds from the start. He will be closely scrutinized because Wesley Fofana, impeccable at Chelsea, has just been recalled and also knows that he can play big, much more than Loïc Badé summoned at the last minute to replace Upamecano.
