Ibrahima Konate explains how he motivated Hugo Ekitike to do Liverpool gym session

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Ibrahima Konate revealed a funny story about how he dangled the carrot of a France call-up in front of Hugo Ekitike in a bid to convince his compatriot to do some gym work at Liverpool. Speaking to a French media channel, Konate revealed an instance at Liverpool when Ekitike said he was too tired to do some gym work, but that Konate incentivized him to go the extra mile.

I went to see him and I said, 'Come on, let's go to the gym now.' And he said to me, 'I'm knocked out, I'm dead.' "Actually, we don't have to go to the gym, but it's better to go, because we're kind of 'called up.' I looked at him and for two seconds, I didn't speak to him. And I said to him, 'Do you want to go to the French national team or not?' "A minute later, he was in the gym.

In terms of work, he is someone who is very diligent and who will progress, I have no doubt about that." Ekitike made his France debut during the September international break, and has appeared in four successive games for Les Bleus. Konate challenges Ekitike during a France training session (Image: Getty Images) The last few months have been fruitful for Ekitike, who has been by far the most impactful of Liverpool's many big-money summer signings across the early weeks of the season.