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Jarell Quansah featured in a new role for Liverpool against Newcastle United.
Arne Slot defended his decision to deploy Jarell Quansah as a Liverpool right-back - and believes the defender had a good game against Newcastle United.
The Reds are struggling in the rearguard because of injuries, with Ibrahima Konate (knee), Conor Bradley (hamstring) and Kostas Tsimikas (ankle) sidelined for today’s Merseyside derby against Everton. And with Trent Alexander-Arnold recently recovering from a hamstring issue of his own and rested for the midweek trip to Newcastle, Slot opted to deploy Quansah on the right-hand side.
Liverpool shared a thrilling 3-3 draw as their lead at the Premier League summit was reduced to seven points. There were sections of supporters who questioned why Joe Gomez did not operate in the full-back role and Quansah instead partnered alongside Virgil van Dijk in central defence.
Slot accepts that Quansah will not play with the same attacking mindset as Alexander-Arnold, who is set to return to the starting line-up against Everton for the final Goodison Park derby, or Bradley - but believes the youngster is capable of operating there.
The Liverpool head coach said: “First of all, I think Jarell played quite a good game [against Newcastle]. From what I’ve been told, not everyone agrees with me, but if you look back at the game then you see that in his one-v-ones he had no problems. In the few times Anthony Gordon was a threat, he was not involved in those moments. But if Conor is available, he is a similar type to Trent when he plays as a right full-back; he is also someone tries to attack the goal, wants to make underlaps and overlaps, like you saw against Real Madrid, for example, when he almost scored.
“If we play with Jarell, it's a different type of player, he’s then more the way Ben White maybe fills that position: a bit more behind the ball, playing the ball through the lines, instead of underlapping and overlapping all the time. That makes a difference if Jarell or Trent plays there, but there is not that much of a difference if Conor or Trent plays there. Trent and Conor have had a big impact on our offensive game if they play, that's for sure.”
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