Arne Slot has explained that he wants Ibrahima Konate to improve on his build-up play from defence.

The Liverpool center-back, who returned to the side recently following a six-week injury layoff, has firmly established himself in Slot’s first-choice XI. Konate is forming a defensive partnership with Virgil van Dijk that is as good as any in Europe - the former even admitted that himself in midweek.

But Slot wants to see the Frenchman perfect his ability to bring the ball out, which he feels could actually help the side score more goals.

READ MORE: Arne Slot issues Curtis Jones injury update ahead of Liverpool v Ipswich

READ MORE: Arne Slot responds to Harvey Elliott lifting the lid on private talks over game time

Asked about Konate ahead of the Premier League clash against Ipswich Town, the Liverpool boss replied: “I think he's already very good. It’s a center-back that without him even touching the ball you feel quite impressed because he is so strong and tall.

“I think one of the things he could improve, in my opinion, is his play with the ball, bringing the ball out from the back. I would not say he is poor in that, but he could improve, he could go to another level, and I think he works really hard to improve that, and I already see this improvement."

“Defensively, he's of the highest standard,” Slot continued. “I think he is fast, he is strong, wins duels through the air and over the ground. He can cover for his team-mates as well if needed. He can play one-v-one with a lot of space in his back.

“Defensively, there is not a lot he can improve, but bringing the ball out from the back, which is not his single job, it is also his team-mates that he needs for that, was something we work a lot and keep on working on.

“Not only with him but with the others as well because with all the ball possession we have we would like to create even more chances that we are now. That starts from bringing the ball out from the back.”

Konate also revealed this week that he is still playing with pain in his knee following the injury he sustained earlier this season and has been eased back into team over recent weeks. But Slot revealed the 25-year-old is now fit enough once again to play three games in a week.

“I think you have seen how we try to manage that. We skipped him [out of matches] twice and Jarell [Quansah] played, and the Accrington Stanley game he didn't play as well,” the ex-Feyenoord boss said on Friday. “That is maybe a bit because he has still some pain in his knee - don't exaggerate it. He feels it but it is okay for him to play.

“It is more the load when you are aware that a player is out for five or six weeks and then playing him every game, that is in our opinion, a certain risk, so we always try to manage that. I think he now comes to a moment where he would be able to play three times a week.”