Jarell Quansah: How He Saved Liverpool Millions

Why would Liverpool spend millions of pounds on players when they consistently produce talents capable of stepping into the first team?

Liverpool’s academy attracts top talents from other English clubs, offering a clear pathway to senior-level football for these young stars. Take Trey Nyoni as an example; Liverpool recruited him from Leicester, and he is now heading towards the first team.

Today, however, let’s shift our focus to a player who has been at the club since age five. He is a player who established himself under Klopp, consistently featured during pre-season under Arne Slot, and has saved Liverpool millions of pounds. It’s the 21-year-old centre-back, Jarell Quansah.

From his quick rise to the first team to how he fits into Arne Slot’s plans, let’s see how Liverpool has produced a multiple-million-pound player that is hard to find in today’s market.

Jarell Quansah’s Development

Typically, younger academy players move around and change positions during their development. This is a way for youth rank managers to help the players adapt to different situations and body development to identify their best positions. But for Jarell, it was different, as he has always been a centre-back since he started playing for Liverpool’s U11s.

It’s a position he has always enjoyed and has been crucial for his development, shaping his identity as a player. Every coach he has worked with throughout the Liverpool academy has supported and enhanced his growth. Besides his traditional defensive responsibilities such as blocking, clearing, and heading, youth rank managers were also possessed with his ball-playing abilities, showing great maturity among his peers.

It’s safe to say that Quansah’s journey to the senior squad was meteoric. After captaining the U18s in an FA Cup final and representing England’s youth team in the World Cup and European Championship, it became evident that the player needed first-team experience. and so a loan move was the ideal solution.

Still, Quansah was viewed as a top talent, which didn’t necessarily entail a loan to a club at the top of the league. The club didn’t want to set him up for failure, so it was crucial to find a balance between a suitable style of play and guaranteed game time. The solution came as a loan to Bristol Rovers, where he could get a feel for being a centre-back in senior games in a physical competition like League One.

It only took Quansah that single loan spell before he returned and fought for a place in the Reds’ senior squad. During the pre-season tour of 2023–24, Liverpool’s centre-backs Rhys Williams and Sepp van den Berg were sent out on loan, creating a pathway for Quansah to step forward and prove himself to Klopp.

The warm-up games, training sessions in Germany, and the Singapore trip convinced Klopp that Quansah had the potential to step up to the first team if required. The player’s quick rise surprised Klopp, who admitted that he didn’t anticipate seeing him join the senior team this soon. But that was only the start.

The Debut

This brings us to a pivotal moment in Quansah’s career. Remember our hard-fought win against Newcastle earlier last season, when Darwin Nunez stole the spotlight with a brace? Well, Quansah was the hidden hero of that game.

With Konate unavailable and Virgil van Dijk seeing red just 30 minutes into the match, Quansah was subbed on with 13 minutes to play while Liverpool was a goal and a man down. This is technically one of the worst situations for a young player to be thrown into, let alone make their debut. One small error could hinder the player’s development.

On the flip side, it shows the faith and trust the manager has in him, acting as a big boost of confidence.

Although Darwin Nunez grabbed the headlines for scoring two goals and helping Liverpool surge to a win, Quansah had a memorable debut, holding his own in such a challenging atmosphere. Yes, he only had eight touches, but his calm, composure, and game intelligence were evident in that short cameo.

This brief appearance cemented Quansah’s spot in the senior squad, and since then, he has made a total of 34 appearances last season: 17 in the Premier League, 7 in the Europa League, 5 in the EFL Cup, and 4 in the FA Cup. He clocked 2,584 minutes last season and contributed 3 goals and 3 assists along the way. But to truly understand what he brings to the table, we need to dive deeper into the details.

In the game against Burnley, Quansah won 11 of the 14 aerial duels contested, a 78.6% success rate. This shows how aerially dominant he is, which is no surprise given that he stands at 6 feet 3 with a large physical build. At the age of 21, his physical ceiling is simply terrifying.

In the same game, Quansah completed 98 of 113 passes, with no player on either team completing more. While many passes were across the pitch, about a third were progressive passes, moving the team further up the field.

The Data

So, not only is Quansah capable of being out of possession with his aerial abilities, but he’s also extremely progressive, with the skill to break opposition lines. This was crucial to the way Jurgen Klopp wanted to play.

These two traits weren’t limited to the Burnley game. This was the story of Quansah’s debut season. You can see how highly the teenager ranked for passes, progressive passes, tackles, and aerial duels. But that’s not all.

He also ranked in high percentiles for progressive ball carrying and successful take-ons, showcasing his all-around abilities and contribution to the team’s dynamic play.

Quansah’s dribbling success indicates his willingness and ability to advance the ball up the pitch, a trait reminiscent of Joel Matip’s dynamic runs that we all loved to watch. His aerial prowess is commendable, especially since he often faces physically imposing forwards. While his passing success rate is slightly lower than Virgil’s, it’s still solid, particularly considering his inclination to attempt riskier, progressive key passes.

To showcase such valuable traits at the highest level, a player must have a certain level of confidence that can sometimes only be earned after a few seasons. But for Quansah, it seems confidence is something he was born with.

He always had the right mentality, which is key for player development. He respected the senior players, but at the same time, he never shied away from showing his confidence. When Matip got injured, we all remember how he expressed his condolences to the player but also showed his ruthlessness by saying he was looking to get over the Cameroonian and become a Premier League starting centre-back.

Aside from physical excellence—such as height, strength, and quickness—modern centre-backs are required to care for the ball, both in possession and in defensive actions. Konate fits the mould of a CB who uses his physical excellence to win challenges, imposing himself in duels. Virgil, on the other hand, is more passive and controlled. Quansah is cut from the same cloth as Virgil in terms of stature, composure, and the way he treats the ball, both when it comes to winning it and passing it. But another key attribute to highlight is the player’s adaptability.

When he was partnered with Virgil, Quansah played as the right centre-back. But when he featured alongside Konate, he was deployed on the left-hand side of the defensive core. This is one of the reasons why Quansah has saved the club millions of pounds. Some players, especially defenders, struggle when they are slightly out of position, but Quansah showed that he can perform equally well anywhere in defence.

How He Can Get Even Better

Now that his strengths have been highlighted, let’s touch upon an area where he needs to improve.

Unlike Konate, Quansah is not a great channel defender, though, to his credit, Konate is one of the best channel defenders in modern football. This was especially evident with Trent Alexander-Arnold’s role last season, as the RCB role required wide channel defending. Quansah is not yet explosive enough to cover wide spaces, but his great tackle reach makes him much more solid defending vertically.

On the flip side, Quansah excelled as an LCB, particularly with the added protection when Joe Gomez plays at left-back. Quansah averaged 2.95 tackles and interceptions in his first season in the Premier League, with a tackling accuracy of 88% while defending for a team known for playing a high line. He averaged 4.92 progressive actions per 90 minutes, showing that he is a mini-VVD at ball-playing. From switches to line-breaking passes, he demonstrated that he has got it all.

Recently, Lewis Steele reported that last year, Quansah asked Liverpool to provide him with drone footage and wide-angle shots of Van Dijk’s defence. He spent hours poring over clips of the Dutchman, studying his movements and techniques. Additionally, he analysed the defensive styles of John Stones, Sergio Ramos, and Leonardo Bonucci, focusing on how they move off the ball. This dedication to learning from the best has contributed to his rapid development and impressive performances. If that isn’t dedication, I don’t know what is.

Why He Can Be An Important Player for Slot

So, now that we’ve discussed what the player brings to the table, let’s explore how he can be crucial to our new manager, Arne Slot.

As mentioned earlier, Quansah was primarily viewed as a left centre-back under Klopp. However, during the pre-season games, Quansah played a vital role as the RCB alongside Sepp van den Berg in the first two games and Konate in the third game against United. Interestingly, in that game, Konate was shifted to the left side while Quansah kept his position. So, why is that, one might wonder?

The visualisation shown here, credited to Pranav, highlights a clear bias in Quansah’s ball-playing and progressive actions, demonstrating he is much more comfortable on the right-hand side. This is exactly what Slot wants from his centre-backs, and using Quansah in favourable conditions gets the best out of him as a ball-playing and progressive centre-back.

But, as mentioned earlier, Quansah isn’t the ideal channel defender, at least not currently. This was evident when Villa targeted Liverpool’s right-hand side in the game last season. Even in the preseason game against Arsenal, Quansah seemed a bit unsure when defending Martinelli, especially when Bradley was pushed higher to press.

Now, is this worth the risk when you put it in balance with what the player offers? Absolutely! 

So far, Quansah has proven to be crucial to the way Slot likes to build out from the back. Whatever flexible shape the Reds adopted during pre-season, it always looked like Quansah was the one initiating the build-up phase. He often recycled possession to bait the press and then launched quick forward passes to start the attacking sequences.

In our pre-season game against Arsenal, you can see here how high the defensive line was. This is crucial to the way Slot wants to play, as it helps with the counter-pressing structure, resulting in sustained pressure in the opposition’s half.

This was a common theme during pre-season, and it’s safe to say that Jarell Quansah has perfected his role so far!

When we look at Quansah’s heatmaps across all three games and the average position of the backline, a few things stand out. Although the average positions may not highlight a high line being played by Liverpool, during the high press, Liverpool maintains a back line at the kick-off line. This creates 1v1 overloads against the opposition’s attack. In these situations, the centre-backs must be physically strong to win aerial duels and challenges to regain possession. 

This is where Quansah has impressed Slot, often playing as the highest of the centre-backs and showing his ability to cover the spaces in behind.

Perhaps his recovery ability was fully on display when he made that last-ditch tackle against Arsenal to deny Gabriel Jesus a simple tap-in!

Another important sequence of play worth mentioning is how Quansah helped the team gain a high turnover. By pushing high up the pitch against Real Betis, he aided in the counter-pressing and set up a chance for Mohamed Salah.

There is no doubt that Jarell Quansah will be one of the building blocks for Liverpool’s new post-Klopp era. Confident on the ball, with an amazing passing range and good vision, he can cover large spaces—he’s simply the blueprint of the modern centre-back. His understanding of space at such a young age is incredible and very similar to that of Virgil van Dijk. That’s why Jarell Quansah has saved the club millions!

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Rohit Kumaran

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