Jarell Quansah has completed a move from Liverpool to Bayer Leverkusen in a deal worth up to £35m
BRIGHTON, ENGLAND - MAY 19: Jarell Quansah of Liverpool looks o during the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion FC and Liverpool FC at Amex Stadium on May 19, 2025 in Brighton, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Jarell Quansah is leaving Liverpool to join Bayer Leverkusen(Image: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Jarell Quansah has completed his move to Bayer Leverkusen in a deal worth up to £35m for Liverpool. The Bundesliga side will pay an initial £30m with the add-ons subject to success at the BayArena.
The England Under-21 star underwent a medical on Monday after successfully concluding his campaign with the Young Lions by beating Germany 3-2 in the European Championship final on Saturday.
And the deal was officially confirmed on Wednesday morning, making Quansah the most expensive player in Leverkusen history as they get set for a summer rebuild under new boss Erik ten Hag and sporting director Simon Rolfes, who was in Slovakia to watch his new centre-half help the U21s to victory over the weekend.
It's understood Liverpool have negotiated a buy-back clause into the deal, said to be at around the £51m mark, although reports in Germany have claimed the terms don't come into play until 2027.
The Premier League champions believe the arrangement allows them the option to potentially bring back a young player they rate highly if he develops as expected in the Bundesliga.
Liverpool had been in talks with Leverkusen for weeks over the futures of Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz, who both moved to the Reds this month for respective fees of £29m and £116m, but the discussions quickly turned to Quansah with die Werkself looking to add a centre-back to their ranks after Jonathan Tah joined Bayern Munich on a free transfer.
Quansah started the season as first choice alongside Virgil van Dijk but was withdrawn by Arne Slot after 45 minutes of the visit to Ipswich on the opening weekend of the Premier League season, with the Reds boss feeling the defender was losing too many individual battles with the combative Liam Delap.
He was replaced by Ibrahima Konate at the break and the France international kept his place for the remainder of the campaign when fit, with Quansah failing to start another league game in his preferred centre-back position before the title was won in late April.
As a result, the prospect of losing him is one Liverpool are relaxed about as they look ahead to potential replacements. England international Marc Guehi, who turns 25 next month, is a player who is attracting Anfield interest. It's unclear at this stage, however, if the Reds will make an offer.
Guehi officially entered the final 12 months of his Crystal Palace contract at the start of July and Liverpool will likely only step up their interest if the FA Cup holders' asking price drops.
Palace rejected four bids around the £60m mark from Newcastle United last year for their captain but will have to come down on that sum if they are to earn a fee for a player who has reportedly made it clear he won't sign a new deal at Selhurst Park.
"Quansah is a great talent," former Liverpool defender Markus Babbel said. "He only has the problem of having two outstanding centre-backs in Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate in front of him. That's why the move makes perfect sense for him to develop, you can see the potential he has. The boy is really good."
Warrington-born Qunasah, who had been with Liverpool since the age of nine, made his senior breakthrough at the beginning of the 23/24 term under Jurgen Klopp, thanks largely to a centre-back shortage through suspension and injuries to key men.
However, the defender grasped his chance and ended his first year in the Premier League with 17 appearances in total under Klopp, including the German's final game in charge when he scored in a victory over Wolves at Anfield.
Under Slot, however, his opportunities became more limited at centre-back and he featured at times as a right-sided full-back to help out when injuries struck the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Bradley and Joe Gomez. The 22-year-old started the Carabao Cup final defeat to Newcastle in the unfamiliar position on the right.