Jarell Quansah is not for sale, with Liverpool planning for next season with the young defender on board.
The 22-year-old has been linked with a move away from Anfield in recent days amid suggestions that Newcastle could be looking at him as a potential summer addition.
Quansah still has four years left on his contract at Liverpool, having made his breakthrough for the senior team last season. Although he has found minutes harder to come by under Arne Slot than Jurgen Klopp, he has featured more of late, including filling in at right-back for the Carabao Cup against the Magpies.
Nevertheless, The Times has reported that Quansah could be a target for Eddie Howe’s side, with a bid of around $39 million plus add-ons being touted. What’s more, talkSPORT has even suggested that Quansah, along with Joe Gomez, could be used in an attempt to bring Alexander Isak to Anfield.
It seems though that the Reds, and Slot in particular, has no intention of letting the defender go this summer. According to The Athletic, Liverpool is not considering selling Quansah at all, with the academy graduate a “big part” of Slot’s plans for next season.
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It is noted that Newcastle still admires him, having shown a strong interest last summer when an approach was rebuffed amid Liverpool’s efforts to sign Anthony Gordon.
At that time, Newcastle is said to have valued Quansah at around $65M, but having now broken into Thomas Tuchel’s England squad and signed a new deal, that valuation would need to be increased.
It has been something of a frustrating season for Quansah, who might have expected to play more after breaking into the side under Klopp last season. The defender though isn’t getting too down about his chances of re-establishing himself in the Reds’ side.
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“Every game is a learning process,” he said back in January. “I’m not getting too down if I make a mistake. I just know I need to learn. It’s going to be a long career so I’m just trying to keep level and temperament is one of the most important things for a young center-back.
“I’m just trying to learn off the players around me. I can lean on all the senior players — I’m not just going to pick out one. I think a lot of them have definitely helped me. It’s about keeping my confidence up and playing to the levels I know I can.”
Liverpool.com says: It’s absolutely the right call for Liverpool to keep Quansah. Although this season hasn’t gone the way many hoped it would for him, he is still such a huge asset for the Reds to have, and at just 22, he’s far from the finished article.
