Jarell Quansah couldn’t ask for many better mentors than Liverpool’s current crop of senior defensive talent.
Virgil van Dijk (32), Joel Matip (32) and Ibrahima Konate (24) have all played a part in influencing the 21-year-old’s game early on in his Anfield career.
“Ibou’s one-v-one defending is so special. I’ve never seen anything quite like it,” the Academy graduate told James Pearce at The Athletic. “The same with Joel, with the way he steps in and drives forward with the ball, how he breaks lines and picks the right pass. It’s just a great learning experience for me.”
The Academy graduate started the Reds’ Europa League tie with Sparta Prague in the Last 16 of the competition.
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Does Ibrahima Konate get enough credit?
Given the quality Quansah sees from Matip and Van Dijk, it’s high praise to claim that our No.5’s defending technique is ‘special’ and unique.
With modern comparisons focussing on Arsenal’s William Saliba and our No.4, it seems that Konate can be a little left out at times.
In our mind, however, the former RB Leipzig man should absolutely be involved in those conversations.
As ever, it comes down to a matter of availability, with the centre-half pushed slightly too far in our prior meeting with Sparta in Prague.
If Konate continues to develop moving forward, however, we’ve got some player on our hands for the next decade.