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Premier League star looks unrecognisable as he arrives in France

A Premier League star was unrecognisable as he arrived for international duty hiding his identity behind a bizarre new fashion choice.

Squad arrivals are often a time for players to showcase their luxury fashion as they leave club football to link-up with their international colleagues and one Liverpool star went bold with his choice.

Players called up by France manager Didier Deschamps arrived at the squad's rural Clairefontaine headquarters in the north of the nation on Monday ahead of upcoming Nations League fixtures.

Team captain Kylian Mbappe was absent from proceedings as the Real Madrid star was left out of the team to recover from injury, despite playing for his club at the weekend.

Liverpool's Ibrahima Konate was amongst those present with the rest of the Les Blues team and caused a stir when he stepped out to reveal himself on Monday afternoon.

The centre-back, fresh from partnering Virgil van Dijk to a cleansheet win over Crystal that moved the Reds to the top of the table, stepped out with an odd yellow net covering his face.

Konate wore a loose fitting jacket and trousers to partner his style and only late revealed his identity when he dramatically unzipped the hood that covered the entirety of his face.

The 25-year-old appeared to enjoy the limelight moment, smiling for the cameras before heading indoors, but fans criticising his choice on social media were less than impressed.

One critic on X mocked Konate, stating: 'Such a clown!', while another fumed: 'what is he wearing.'

Ibrahima Konate (right) was the hidden identity as he joined France after starring for Liverpool against Crystal Palace on Saturday

Konate will be hoping to get regular minutes on the international stage alongside Arsenal defender WIlliam Saliba in upcoming matches against Israel and Belgium.

Meanwhile, an assured outing against Crystal Palace on Sunday saw Konate praised as amongst the Premier League's best defenders by Peter Crouch.

'I mean, he's as good as anyone around. I always look at judge center halves with would I like to play against them?

'Konate and Van Dijk. I couldn't think of many, many worse defenders to play against,' he said. 

Source: dailymail.co.uk

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