Ivorian forward Karim Konaté continues to progress rapidly in his career after starting at famous Ivorian club ASEC Mimosas, completing a transfer to Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg for €3.5 million last July at the age of 18 years. Konaté is being discussed as the next Ivorian superstar with five appearances already for the Ivory Coast senior national team and is currently on loan at Salzburg’s reserve team, FC Liefering in the Austrian second tier, where he has 15 goals in 20 appearances across all competitions including a hat-trick in the UEFA Youth League against Chelsea FC’s under-19 team in October.
Back on vacation in the Ivorian capital of Abidjan for the Austrian Bundesliga’s winter break, Konaté spoke with Ivorian publication Mondial Sport to discuss how he is doing in Austria and what he wishes to accomplish in European football. Konaté continues to be involved as a supporter with former club ASEC Mimosas and stated that he is pleased with the current squad as they look to defend their domestic league title while preparing for the 2022-23 CAF Confederation Cup group stage.
Konaté describes his hat-trick against Chelsea’s youth team in October as a special moment because the English club are known most in Ivory Coast for being the longtime home of its most famous player, striker Didier Drogba, a hero to Konaté. His plans are to continue finding success with FC Liefering to earn promotion to the first team of Salzburg and establish himself with the team who regularly compete in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League. The adaptation of Konaté is going well in Austria with compatriot and fellow ASEC youth team graduate Oumar Diakité also at the club, a major reason why Red Bull continue to be an excellent destination for young African talents.
There is plenty to watch for with Konaté, a candidate to be on the Ivory Coast team when the country hosts the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations next year. Konaté expressed his optimism for the team’s chances at the AFCON as well as the domestic-based national team’s upcoming participation at the 2022 African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Algeria later this month.
Read more from Mondial Sport in the link below and learn more about the skills and talent of Konaté in Pan-Africa Football’s scouting report which is linked below as well.
