Liverpool decide against activating Jarell Quansah’s £70m buyback clause | OneFootball

Liverpool have no plans to bring Jarell Quansah back to Anfield despite facing a defensive injury crisis ahead of the new Premier League season, talkSPORT reports.

Liverpool have an option to re-sign the 23-year-old defender from Bayer Leverkusen through a £70 million buyback clause, but they’ve decided against pursuing the deal.

Interestingly, this comes at a time when Liverpool are dealing with several defensive concerns.

Liverpool stalwart Joe Gomez is expected to miss the start of the season after sustaining an injury in the Reds’ 4-2 victory over Sunderland in their pre-season curtain-raiser.

Highly rated youngsters Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni are both still working their way back to full fitness after lengthy injury setbacks.

However, rather than re-signing the ‘special‘ Quansah, Liverpool are placing their trust in the development of Jacquet and Leoni. They believe both defenders have the quality to become important players in the future.

Jacquet arrived from Stade Rennais in a deal worth around £60m, making him one of the most expensive defenders in Liverpool’s history.

However, his progress was interrupted by a serious shoulder injury suffered while on loan in France during the second half of last season.

The 21-year-old is still recovering from the issue, although lingering discomfort has prevented him from making his Liverpool debut.

Leoni is in a similar predicament. The Italian teenager made a promising first impression after joining from Parma but suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury shortly after his debut in the EFL Cup.

The 19-year-old is close to returning to full fitness, but he’ll need time to regain sharpness. Liverpool have struggled to bring in defensive reinforcements over the past year.

They failed to sign Marc Guehi before he joined Manchester City and lost Ibrahima Konate to La Liga giants Real Madrid on a free transfer.

Meanwhile, captain Virgil van Dijk has also yet to feature under new manager Andoni Iraola after being given an extended break for his World Cup participation.