Moussa Konate: On SC Amiens Escaping Relegation & Being the Best Paid Player at the Club

Players are made best paid for a reason –to deliver and get their clubs to follow along with the outlined priorities. Senegal’s Moussa Konate is that marquee for SC Amiens of the French Ligue1.

He was delivered to the Stade de la Licorne grounds in the summer of 2017 from FC Sion at a fee in excess of €4m.

The Unicorns parted with the sum on the inclination that they had nabbed a striker. This bet worked as Konate morphed from the man who never scored double-digit goals in a single season to a consistent goal scorer.

He netted 13 goals in his first season, at a league better placed than the Swiss Super League he’d been used to, making him an even more special case. The fans and French press joined in the adulations.

Amiens’ chairman swiftly bumped up the striker’s earnings, making him the club’s best-paid player as the African pocketed a combined €60,000 to match his new status.

Fast-forward 2019, the praises have been replaced by anxiety, with a different reality on the surface as relegation stares in the face. Konate has been part of this sudden decline from the set-out and who knows, on instinct, he may be looked upon to fire Amiens back to the days of glory. First, however, he’s required to shake off an injury that has sidelined him for three months.

“I’m doing my best to get back to my best with the help of the doctors, my teammates, and all the staff. It was important to have people around me during those three months of injury,” the 25-year-old says.

SC Amiens is placed second from bottom in the 20-team French Ligue1 log, after conceding 38 goals in 23 outings, one place higher thab basement occupants Gunigamp. Moussa is not oblivious to the task ahead.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] “Everyone expects me to score. I will not rush. I know we need to take the points to do our best to get out of this red zone but it will take time. What is certain is that we will all do our best to achieve this.”   [/perfectpullquote]

Being a center-forward, the onus to score naturally rests on his shoulders and SC have found it herculean to get the ball to the back of the net in the absence of their star striker. As a result, there will be an obvious wave of optimism at the thought of their goal-getter returning.

He continued: “Now the most important thing is to get out of it collectively. It was not because there was no Moussa Konate that the team did not score. What’s important for the group and myself is to stay ready, to move forward as a team. There were games I have played and I didn’t score. We should score together, that’s how we will pass this test.”

Gaffer Julien Stephan will be elated at his prized possession’s return from the treatment table. Asked what he thinks of spending the past months on the peripheries, the Genoa attacker was cautious in his answer.

“I will try to do my best to start a match again. Today, I feel able to be part of the group. After that, it’s the coach who will decide whether I start the match or not.”