Liverpool’s Academy may have produced yet another gem for fans to savour after Jarell Quansah delivered a performance to remember against Wolves.
The 20-year-old centre-back was tasked with coming into a defence that didn’t contain Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate nor Trent Alexander-Arnold, with Joe Gomez tucking in on the right as a makeshift fullback.
The defender’s stats, as shared on X by Liverpool.com writer Bence Bocsak, speak for themselves, with him winning all of his three tackles and having been heavily involved in the build-up.
🏴 Jarell Quansah definitely showed promising moments for #LFC today.
– Most passes completed while he was on the pitch (78)
– 3/3 tackles won
– 7 clearances
– 5/8 duels won
– 4 recoveries
– 2 interceptionsAlways a tough ask to cover for Virgil van Dijk no matter who… pic.twitter.com/tQqqylfDiy
— Bence Bocsák (@BenBocsak) September 16, 2023
Jurgen Klopp applauded his protege’s contribution prior to his second-half subbing: “In such a disorganised team like we were in the first-half, being the one who looks kind of alright is a statement.”
Whilst it’s far too early to be hailing the young centre-half as the next Virgil van Dijk or Ibrahima Konate (the latter perhaps being the more appropriate comparison given Quansah is right-footed), it’s certainly encouraging to witness such an assured performance.
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In the circumstances, a confident display in a seriously tweaked backline – especially whilst Gomez was initially instructed to play the inverted role favoured by our No.66 – was more than worthy of praise.
Whilst it goes to show that we do have some further depth in the right central defence than first realised, we’d be surprised if the club didn’t look to invest still in a left-footed, left-sided centre-back come January.
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