BREAKING NEWS: Jurgen Klopp uncovered surprise Liverpool’s playmaker quietly outshines two elite players.
Jarell Quansah continues to catch the eye after helping Liverpool reach the Carabao Cup final.
The 2023-24 campaign was supposed to be a transitional one after a squad rebuild. Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool 2.0 was dubbed as akin to his first full season in charge at Anfield in 2016-17 when Champions League qualification was the chief aim.
One of the biggest revelations to come out of the season was certainly not foreseen. Klopp could not have even envisaged Jarell Quansah’s magnificent progress that’s transformed from a Reds rookie to a cast-iron member of the squad.
Before the start of the campaign, the centre-back had not made his Liverpool debut. He’d returned to Anfield against the backdrop of a loan spell at League One outfit Bristol Rovers. Amid the clamour for Klopp to sign a new centre-half in the summer transfer window, Quansah was instead given an opportunity – and has thrived in his 16 appearances so far.
The 20-year-old delivered another impeccable performance to book Liverpool’s spot at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final following a 1-1 draw against Fulham in the last-four second leg. Not only that but he engineered the opening goal for Luis Diaz that proved decisive for the Reds to claim a 3-2 aggregate triumph.
Quansah’s raking diagonal ball was taken down by Diaz, who weaved his way into the Fulham box before managing to squirm an effort into the near post. The Colombia international garnered the majority of the plaudits but Quansah’s contribution should not go unnoticed – nor was it a stroke of luck.
The former Reds under-18s captain recorded his third assist of the season. Quansah also set up Diogo Jota’s goal in the 3-1 Carabao Cup third-round win over Leicester City and then Dominik Szoboslai’s strike in the quarter-final triumph against West Ham.
In all competitions, Quansah is joint-third for assists at Liverpool in all competitions behind Darwin Nunez (10), Mo Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold (both nine). Interestingly, Joe Gomez also has three assists along with Jota, Cody Gakpo, Curtis Jones and Kostas Tsimikas while Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch have two apiece.
What’s more, Quansah has directly created more goals than Jack Grealish and Mykhaylo Mudryk (both two) – signed for £100 million and £88.5 million by Manchester City and Chelsea respectively.
Virgil van Dijk’s prowess to swiftly start attacks with his long passing has been an underestimated attribute for Liverpool. Quansah has been tipped by some to be the Liverpool captain’s long-term successor for his dominant defensive qualities – and he has displayed early signs he could fill the void in possession.
READ NEXT:
Mohamed Salah has new injury return date in sight as he looks to prove biggest Liverpool point
Mohamed Salah could miss the rest of the Africa Cup of Nations through injury but should have a new injury return date in his sights with Liverpool
Mohamed Salah will know he faces a race against time to be fit to return to AFCON after suffering a hamstring injury, but that won’t stop him from trying.
The Liverpool forward has faced widespread criticism in his homeland for returning to Merseyside for treatment rather than staying with the Egypt national side. But with his injury worse than first feared, club, country, and player all decided it was the best decision as the Pharaohs booked their place in the Africa Cu of Nations round-of-16.
“Yesterday I started the treatment and rehabilitation program,” Salah wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, following his return to England. “And I will do everything possible to be ready as soon as possible and return to the national team as was agreed upon from the beginning… I also love it and its people… try harder.”
Earlier in the week, the Egyptian’s agent, Ramy Abbas Issa, had confirmed that his client would be sidelined for 21-28 days. Having suffered his hamstring injury on January 18, such a timescale leaves him a doubt to be fit for the AFCON final. If Egypt, who drew all three group games, even get there.
READ MORE: ‘I took names’ – Mohamed Salah breaks silence on Liverpool return as agent hits out at critics
READ MORE: Kylian Mbappe makes £60m Liverpool decision as Virgil van Dijk transfer partner emerges
Should the Pharaohs avoid elimination from the tournament without him, then Salah will perhaps be targeting an early return after 20 days in the semi-finals on February 7. If that is not possible, he will hope to be back available for a potential final appearance on February 11.
If Egypt end up competing in the third-place play-off instead on February 10, a decision would need to be made regarding whether they still expect him to return. Meanwhile, a four-week lay-off would rule the 31-year-old out of both matches regardless.
Consequently, no matter how far Egypt progress at AFCON, Salah will essentially be absent for Liverpool for the duration of the tournament. Having already missed the Reds’ FA Cup third round victory over Arsenal, both legs of the League Cup semi-final against Fulham, and a Premier League trip to Bournemouth, he will now also sit out the FA Cup fourth round meeting with Norwich City and league clashes with both Chelsea and Arsenal.
A return at home to Burnley on February 10 is possible, depending on Egypt’s progression at AFCON and if he returns in three weeks. If not, then a Liverpool comeback away at Brentford on February 17 is far more likely.
But with the forward facing an uphill battle to feature in the AFCON final, he now at least has an alternative showpiece occasion to instead make sure he is back fit in time for. And it’s one he has the time for to make sure he is 100% ready.
After the Reds defeated Fulham 3-2 on aggregate on Wednesday night, Liverpool will now face Chelsea, Salah’s former club, in the League Cup final at Wembley on Sunday 25 February – 38 days after he limped off against Ghana.
Salah has won every major honour since joining the Reds in the summer of 2017, but he could be forgiven for wishing his individual final record stood even better. But while he has won six of his 10 finals with Liverpool, he has only scored two penalties and registered one assist across such games.
Scoring from the penalty spot in the 2019 Champions League final over Tottenham Hotspur, his other two final goal contributions came in the 2022 Community Shield win over Man City.
Five of those finals have been decided by penalties, with Salah admittedly scoring in four of those shootouts, while a sixth has been decided in extra-time. He boasts no goals or assists from these matches, with the Reds scoring just five goals in these tightly-fought encounters.
Meanwhile, the was forced off injured after 30 minutes in the 2018 Champions League final loss to Real Madrid, and 33 minutes in the 2022 FA Cup final win over Chelsea. And with Liverpool facing the Londoners in three finals since 2019, each match has gone to penalties with a 2-2 draw in the European Super Cup followed by two 0-0 stalemates in both domestic cup finals in 2021/22.
His record is even more frustrating at an international level, losing two Africa Cup of Nations finals in 2017 and 2022. He would claim an assist in a 2-1 defeat to Cameroon in the former, before Egypt had already suffered defeat in a penalty shootout defeat to Senegal before he could even step up last time out.
Of course, it’s not just his individual record in finals that Salah would wish looked more positive. He might feel the same about facing his former club too.
Having faced Chelsea more times (22) than any other opposition in his club career, 18 of those matches have come with Liverpool. He has won seven – though three came via penalty shoot-outs – lost four, scored four and assisted three. While a perfectly respectable record, that is now enough for a serial winner chasing perfection.
Chelsea will be desperate to avoid losing a fourth-successive final against the Reds at Wembley next month. Yet the returning Salah will be desperate to make a more meaningful impact on a showpiece occasion, and stick the knife into a club who, while struggling this season and last, will inevitably forever regret letting him go.
With Liverpool finals and their meetings with Chelsea recently proving to be tight affairs, maybe this time the Egyptian King could be the difference-maker? If further AFCON heartache awaits for him in one form or another, the Reds have at least given Salah the perfect platform to bounce back quickly.
Leave a Reply