Few would have seen this season coming for Jarell Quansah at Liverpool.
The centre-back has made extraordinary progress after being loaned out to League One Bristol Rovers last year.
So good has Quansah been, that he has now seemingly moved ahead of Ibrahima Konate in the pecking order. With Konate in desperate form, the academy graduate has stepped up.
His stunning progress was rewarded in the best way possible on Monday, as the 21-year-old headed home his first ever Premier League goal. It was a lovely finish, too. Jamie Carragher even claimed it to be Cristiano Ronaldo esque.
Craning his neck back to meet Harvey Elliott’s free-kick, Quansah looped a brilliant header past Emi Martinez to put Liverpool 3-1 up. Although they ultimately couldn’t hold onto that lead, Quansah shared a moment he’ll never forget with the travelling Reds’ fans.
Jarell Quansah shares ‘surreal’ moment
This was of course not Quansah’s first goal as a first-team player for Liverpool. He buried a lovely right-footed finish against Union Saint-Gilloise in the Europa League.
He also later had a perfectly good goal chalked off in the same competition at Toulouse. So, it seems that the youngster knows where the net is.
Quansah proved that again on Monday, and with Konate having failed to score for two full seasons, it’s another feather in the young man’s cap.
And speaking to BBC Sport after the game, Quansah revelled in the let-off from the crowd once his header hit the net.
“I’ve been waiting for that moment,” said the England U21 international. “I don’t score too many goals so when it goes in back of net you just saw the emotion come out I guess. I just tried to get the best contact on it as I could. I’m thankful it went in.
“The way the crowd celebrated was a surreal moment, definitely one I’ll never forget.”
Will Liverpool still sign a centre-back this summer
Given how good Quansah has been this season, some may argue that Liverpool no longer need a new centre-back.
Jurgen Klopp has claimed that his No.78 has been ‘exceptional’ at times this term, and it’s hard to argue against that.
With Joel Matip out for the year, there could have been worry that Liverpool would be left short in the centre-back department. Even with Konate’s injury troubles, Quansah has shown that not to be the case.
Nevertheless, Liverpool have definitely suffered from not having a regular partner for Virgil van Dijk. That needs to change next season.
As a result, the Reds are reportedly still planning to bring in a new central defender this summer. In fact, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has claimed that it will be a ‘priority.’ Whoever comes in though, Quansah certainly won’t be fazed. It’s his shirt to lose for now.
