Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp could abandon his pursuit for another defender to add to his ranks in January as Jarell Quansah continues his impressive rise at Anfield. The centre-back is increasingly becoming a player relied upon by Klopp as he looks to rotate in cup competitions and the Europa League, and Quansah’s displays could convince the German manager to change his mind over bringing in another player in the next transfer window.
The 20-year-old has already made six appearances for the Reds this season, including starts in the Premier League and Europa League. The Liverpool academy graduate has shown his maturity beyond his age, displaying composure on the ball in playing out from the back – as displayed by his assist in the Carabao Cup.
Before their Europa League tie against Toulouse, former England Women international Eni Aluko hailed the ability of the highly-rated youngster, comparing him to ex-Manchester United icon Rio Ferdinand and praising his elegant ‘Rolls Royce’ style of play.
”He’s like Rio Ferdinand, he’s got so much about him,” Aluko said. “Looks like he has a real future ahead of him, a Rolls Royce player at the back.”
Quansah came off the bench with 25 minutes to go in Liverpool’s 5-1 thrashing of Toulouse and that just underlined the growing faith Klopp has in the defender to do a job. On this occasion, he switched to left-back after replacing debutant Luke Chambers.
Although he is primarily a centre-back, the youngster showed he has no qualms playing out of position as he looked comfortable enough on the left side of defence, alternating with Joe Gomez.
Most of Klopp’s targets would need to be on par or even improve the options he has at the moment, and that is likely to blow a massive hole in his transfer budget. Benfica’s Antonio Silva, for one, is rated at around £60million by his club, while his national team-mate Goncalo Inacio would be similarly expensive from their Portugal rivals Sporting Lisbon.
Instead, Klopp may choose to nurture Quansah, a player he has singled out for praise after breaking into the first-team equation over the past 12 months. In particular, he plucked his performance in the 3-1 win over Wolves after making his first start for the club.
“I have to say he did really well. He was good,” Klopp said back in September. “In possession as well he was calm. It was like we had just met in the car park before the game with the organisation in the first-half. But he played really well.”
Klopp has shown he is willing to promote and nurture youngsters from within if they are good enough – Trent Alexander-Arnold and Curtis Jones are proof of that as fully-fledged members of the Liverpool first team. And Quansah could be the next name to etch his name in the teamsheet for years to come if he continues to shine in front of the Kop,