Football has well and truly gone mad, because these days the sexier a centre-back is, the better. And Liverpool have struck gold in that department with their latest youth star.
The days of managers wanting their central defenders to have absolutely nothing to do with the football are behind us.
Instead, those who can pull off Cruyff turns to send strikers packing and ping passes like a prime Pirlo are heralded as greats, even if they’re unable to put a forward in row Z with a tackle strong enough to send a rocket ship into space.
Thankfully for Jurgen Klopp, though, Jarell Quansah has proven to be a pretty nifty blend of both types.
In other words, he’s an absolute f*cking nightmare to play against. The kind of player who makes you want to turn around and get back in the car on a Sunday morning, knowing full well you’re spending the next two hours locked up with no way out.
Quansah embodies that and his Player of the Match performance against Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup was merely the next step towards stardom as he rewrites the script in Liverpool’s defensive setup.
Tall, bullish and extremely handsome, the 20-year-old has drastically gone from strength to strength in 2023, from his first foray into senior football on loan at Bristol, to knocking on the door of the Reds’ first team and not leaving until he got a answer.
With his emergence, those days of desperately scrambling for a defender and signing Ben Davies – who we still don’t believe ever existed – feel like a very distant memory.
As Jurgen Klopp tries to regenerate his Liverpool side and turn them into title challengers once again, Quansah is the perfect next step forward.
An England international at all youth levels, it’s rather frightening how much composure he already plays with, from firing passes through the lines to trusting his positioning and being able to anticipate forwards like a veteran.
Seriously, while naturally a little rough around the edges, Quansah has the full package – including height that we’re incredibly envious of.
How do some people get so lucky? The guy is a joke.
What’s so impressive about Quansah is not just his freakish ability to split open lines like a hot knife through butter with his passing, nor is it his obscene anticipation and positioning.
It’s his confidence to try those things when it could all go pear-shaped and leave him looking like a big, gangly bag of nerves.
He looks exactly the opposite, however. Klopp has got an absolute gem on his hands.
When you marry such sought-after attributes to his extremely imposing physicality, it’s scary hours. Quansah plays like a short yet extremely nifty midfielder but stands at six foot three and can get his head or body to just about anything he fancies.
“A really good game, wow,” Were his manager’s words after his POTM performance against The Cherries.
“I told him now, he was really over the moon about the game. He was concentrated, strong in the tackles, reading the game super well.”
It’s still early days for Quansah who only made his Liverpool debut in August, but now is the time to take good momentum and turn it into a sustained push to break the mould and force his way into Klopp’s back four.
He’s got all of the tools to become a great.
By Mitch Wilks
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That the other thing... We were ready to stump up 60m for Levi ColwillLeave a comment:
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It was a fantastic decision to stick with him, even if it was a little bit forced on us through HG places. He'll save us a bundle but also ease the HG headache in the future.Leave a comment:
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He is doing as well as JoGo did when he broke through. Without the injuries and dip in condudence, Gomez was on the verge of international recognition.
It could save us a penny or two replacing Matip, but I feel he really needs a lot of football to develop his instincts. Being 5th choice now or 4th choice next year may hamper his debelopment. A loan might be better a in the new year. Especially as Gomez form has pocked up massively. Not sure who would be 5th choice if he did leave though. I was expecting Rhys Williams to get more time, but he seems to have flatlined in terms of prospects.
I try not to get too excited as there have been too many false starts... Remember Flanagan and Robinson? Or Wisdom? Coady was probably someone who could have made it... And obviously Nat.
But he does look very good thus far. I hope Klopp stick with him in the cupsLeave a comment:
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early days & teams will start working him out defensivley the more he plays, so will reserve judgement; but take nothing away he is better than anyone on here expected & an absolute bonusLeave a comment:
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Originally posted by Shaggy View PostWas anyone else shouting at him to hoof it / put it in the stand when he appeared to be fannying about with it on the touchline in the left back position?
Cos I was. Then he Cruyff turned the guy and played his way out of trouble. 
Every performance so far has been outstanding. Can't believe how good he looks. yes, I was definitely telling him to get rid! What a player he is turning out to be.
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Was anyone else shouting at him to hoof it / put it in the stand when he appeared to be fannying about with it on the touchline in the left back position? Cos I was. Then he Cruyff turned the guy and played his way out of trouble.
Every performance so far has been outstanding. Can't believe how good he looks.Leave a comment:
He has not put a foot wrong.
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