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Jarell Quansah spoke to reporters including LiverpoolWorld ahead of the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle United.
Jarell Quansah admitted it’s been difficult being on the Liverpool fringes - but is hoping he can display all of his qualities on the grandest stage.
The defender is line to start for the Reds in the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle United at Wembley today. Injuries to first-choice right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, deputy Conor Bradley and the versatile Joe Gomez means that Quansah is the next in line.
The defender enjoyed a magnificent breakthrough 2023-24 season for Liverpool as he made 34 appearances and scored three goals. However, this campaign has not been as fruitful. Ibrahima Konate has been Virgil van Dijk’s primary centre-back partner as the Reds hurtle towards the Premier League title.
Quansah started the opening game of the campaign against Ipswich Town but was substituted at half-time for Konate. The 22-year-old has made only one more league start since, although he has played a total of 21 times this term.
Speaking to reporters including LiverpoolWorld at the AXA Training Centre ahead of the Carabao Cup final, the level-headed Quansah believes this campaign will be a learning curve.
What’s been said
He said: “It's all about learning for me. There are going to be times where I play good, times where I play bad and as long as I'm learning and becoming a better player then in the future I know I'll be fine. It's just all about keeping perspective on what sort of stage of my career I'm in at the minute. It's learning, learning from the best and becoming consistent.
“It's not massive (being substituted at half-time) because it's happened before and it'll happen again unfortunately, but it's about how I deal with it and I feel like I dealt with it quite well. It's obviously tough not playing and not being able to show what I'm capable of at times but it's one of those things where it's a big storyline for you but for me it'll happen and I'll hopefully get better.”
Quansah is set to play out of position against Newcastle as Liverpool aim to defend the Carabao Cup and win the competition for a record-extending 11th time. However, it’s a role he has been deployed in several times this season. He operated in the role off the bench in a 2-0 win over Manchester City and impressed after replacing the Alexander-Arnold in Liverpool’s gut-wrenching Champions League loss to Paris Saint-Germain on penalties.
Quansah will be buoyed by being called into Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad for 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia later this month. And he believes operating at full-back can an advantage as he will display his qualities on the ball.
‘Show what I’m about’
The Liverpool academy product added: “Obviously Joey [Gomez] was starting centre-back and before that he had been the natural one who had filled in at right-back. The gaffer pulled me and said he thought I had the attributes and qualities to play right-back - not probably how Trent and Conor play it but in a different type of way.
“When someone shows that belief in you - and he's obviously a good manager who knows what he's on about - it's good. I'm just happy he can see my qualities and hopefully I can show a little bit more of what I'm about on the ball from that position, because sometimes that's hard to do from centre-half.
“I think the way I trained gives me my confidence and the work I've been putting in on the training pitch. I'm trying to leave no stone unturned and be in the best physical shape I can possibly be in, and the football will hopefully take care of itself.”