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Jarell Quansah sent another firm reminder to Arne Slot as Liverpool's center-back conundrum continues.
The 22-year-old, who was sold by Liverpool in the summer, produced an impressive performance for Bayer Leverkusen in their 3-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday night to add to his flying start in Germany. Quansah has started all four of Leverkusen's fixtures this season since his $47.4million (£35m) switch from Anfield.
But his latest display was arguably the most impressive as Leverkusen had to count on their defence for their win after eventually finishing the game with nine men. Leverkusen were 2-1 ahead when Robert Andrich was sent off on 59 minutes, with Equi Fernandez also shown a red card in stoppage time, prior to Alejandro Grimaldo's late goal which sealed all three points.
Bundesliga commentator Kevin Hatchard wrote on X: "Early days, but I imagine Liverpool will be watching Jarell Quansah's performances at Bayer Leverkusen with great interest. Showing good leadership skills already, and clearly has the ambition to establish himself as one of the best centre-backs in the Bundesliga."
The move is clearly working wonders for the young defender, who was a late call-up to Thomas Tuchel's England squad last week, albeit not earning any minutes in their World Cup qualifiers.
Liverpool may well be rethinking their decision to sell their academy graduate, given they are vulnerably light on centre-back options after failing to land Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace on deadline day.
The Reds are expected to go back in with a fresh bid for Guehi, but could now face competition from Bayern Munich and Real Madrid for his signature.
Liverpool's recruitment team have covered their bases with the perfect back-up plan, however, after inserting a buy-back clause into the deal which took Quansah to Leverkusen, enabling them to re-sign him from summer 2027.
That could give Quansah ample time to gain further experience as a regular starter in Germany and the Champions League, something he would not been likely to get at Liverpool this season.
Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate remain Slot's first-choice pairing, while Guehi would have been ahead of Quansah had he been signed before the transfer window shut. Liverpool also have Joe Gomez and new 18-year-old signing Gabriel Leoni, but any injuries could leave them short at the back.
Liverpool also risk being even lighter on options come next summer should they fail to convince Guehi to move to Anfield while Konate's contract is into its final 12 months.
That could well bring Liverpool back to the negotiating table for Quansah sooner than expected should they wish to accelerate his return. Liverpool also included a buy-back clause in a similar deal which took Harvey Elliott to Aston Villa and the club clearly feel both players have the potential to one day return.
Whether Liverpool move to bring back Quansah in the future remains to be seen. But one fan pointed out that the Leverkusen star may be better off in Germany after failing to truly convince Slot of his talents.
"It’s no coincidence that he’s playing with confidence," the supporter wrote on X. "After being hooked at Ipswich for Liverpool, Quansah looked like a player that knew his manager didn’t really trust him."
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