Views: 1
Considered a great hope, Karim Konaté is having a dream season. The African champion with Ivory Coast, currently top scorer in the Austrian league, also carried Salzburg to the title. At 20 years old, the player adapts quickly and well.
At the top of the Austrian league play-offs, RB Salzburg are on their way to another title and qualification for the Champions League. Among the big players of this season, which ends in 5 days, is Karim Konaté. This weekend, the Ivory Coast international scored again, scoring twice in the 4-2 win over SK Austria Klagenfurt to take his tally to 13 goals.
With 13 goals, Karim Konaté leads the league scoring charts. He is one goal ahead of Rapid Vienna’s Austrian international Marco Grull (12 goals) and his compatriot Andreas Gruber (11 goals) Austria Vienna.
This performance does not come as a surprise to Austrian football observers, who had already detected the beginnings of good form last season. The man who had alternated the previous season with Liefering, the Austrian second division subsidiary of Salzburg, proved his effectiveness.
The native of Koumassi, who does not hide his love for Olympique Lyonnais, comes from far away, from a country that lives football.
Abidjan to Salzburg
Known for his speed, technique and depth, the young striker cut his teeth at the Mimosifcom Academy in Abidjan. Between 2020 and 2022, he scored a series of goals with ASEC Abidjan, enough to attract the attention of several European clubs.
Coveted by several European clubs, Ibrahim Konaté decided to validate Salzburg’s project for 3.5 million euros. Erling Braut Haaland, Patson Daka, Karim Adeyemi, Noah Okafor and Benjamin Sesko are examples that have convinced the player and his entourage that Red Bull Salzburg is the perfect place to develop high-class strikers.
“He was the best choice given his past with African players, and with the aim of developing myself. They (Salzburg’s directors, editor’s note) came to Abidjan and invited me to visit the facilities, I told myself that this was the club I needed,” the 19-year-old striker explained a few weeks ago in an interview with Actu Foot Afrique.
Following in the footsteps of Drogba or Haaland
Compared to a certain Didier Drogba, Karim Konaté, despite his young age, has already tasted the senior team. With the Elephants, under the direction of Patrice Beaumelle, he earned his first cap in September 2021 against Mozambique, at just 17 years old, in a qualifying match for the 2022 World Cup. He then went on to win the 2023 AFCON with Côte d’Ivoire at home.
Also this season, the player, who is under contract until June 2028 with Salzburg, has discovered the Champions League and has played 5 games.
In terms of record, the African Champion has played 24 matches in the Austrian league this season with 13 goals and two assists. He also scored two goals in the Austrian Cup. With five games to go before the end of the season, Karim Konaté could well improve on this record.
Photo credit: RB Salzburg
Source:Africa Top Sport