Jarell Quansah looks set to seal his move away from Liverpool as the final details for his switch to Bayer Leverkusen are ironed out.
It was always obvious that one of Quansah or Joe Gomez was going to leave Anfield this season, as Arne Slot chose to play Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk in most of Liverpool’s games.
Both players deserve their place in the Reds’ starting XI, but in the end, it was Gomez who was chosen to stay.
However, in a way, this makes a lot of sense as the Englishman can play anywhere across the back-four, whereas Quansah is much more of a centre-back, even though he has been used at right-back from time to time.
Indeed, Quansah is a fair bit younger than Gomez and has much more room to grow in the future, which is why many were surprised to see the Liverpool academy graduate leaving.
Jarell Quansah of Liverpool looks on during the Premier League match between Brighton and Hove Albion FC and Liverpool FC at Amex Stadium
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
However, Richard Hughes has the Reds covered in that department as the centre-back’s buy-back clause has now been revealed.
Liverpool have a buy-back clause worth £34.1million for Jarell Quansah
As per a fresh report from Sky Germany, Hughes has seemingly pulled off yet another masterstroke by getting the Reds a €40million (£34.1million) release clause in the deal.
Quansah has signed a deal with Erik ten Hag’s men until 2030, with the defender likely becoming one of their first-choice centre-backs due to Jonathan Tah’s move to Bayern Munich.
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Sky Germany adds that there are ‘bonuses’ within the deal which take the total cost of €30million (£25.6million) for his transfer even higher, should they be met.
Although the Reds would have to pay an extra nine or so million to bring the Englishman back in the future, if he gets a few years of development under his belt, it could end up being one of the smartest moves the club could have made.
Liverpool's recruitment team including Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes hold the Premier League trophy.
Photo by Nikki Dyer – LFC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
What Liverpool are likely to do about their back four this summer
One of the main areas that the Anfield outfit are looking to change this summer is their defensive line.
Jeremie Frimpong has already been brought in with Milos Kerkez’s move from Bournemouth also on the cusp of completion.
Many other names have also been linked with an Anfield switch, such as Marc Guehi, but until the future of Ibrahima Konate is sorted, it’s unlikely that a decision will be made on the Crystal Palace captain just yet.
Some younger players, such as Ousmane Diomande and Tomas Araujo, have also been linked, but they’d be more of a fourth-choice than anything else at the moment.
If Liverpool did bring Guehi in, it feels like there would have to be some sort of guarantee that he’d be the first in line to take over Van Dijk’s spot in the team once he leaves or retires.
With the quality that the Englishman has shown over the past couple of seasons, it shouldn’t be a problem.
Virgil Van Dijk Marc Guehi
Interceptions per game 3 0.8
Tackles per game 1.5 1.8
Dribbled past per game 0 0.5
Clearances per game 5 4.6
Blocked shots per game 0.5 0.2
The 2024-25 Premier League seasons of Virgil van Dijk and Marc Guehi in numbers. (Credit: Sofascore.)
At the end of the day, there’s no knowing what could happen to Slot’s ranks over the next year or so, but one thing is for sure, their defensive line is going to look far different to what it did at the end of the 2024-25 season.