Club Have ‘No Indication’ Liverpool Will Do Transfer Deal | OneFootball

Michael Regan/Getty Images

Bayer Leverkusen have received ‘no indication’ that Liverpool intend to bring back Jarell Quansah this coming summer.

Quansah came through Liverpool’s academy before being handed his senior debut by Jurgen Klopp in the 2023/24 season.

The young centre-back gained increasing prominence in Klopp’s final season, as Liverpool legend Phil Thompson expressed his eagerness to see Quansah play more often, expecting him to become ‘some centre-back’.

The defender’s performances were so good that former Liverpool star Jason McAteer compared Quansah to Virgil van Dijk, while another former Red in Martin Skrtel was left in awe of Quansah’s ‘quality and confidence’ at such a young age.

Quansah can be forgiven if he went into the summer of 2024 expecting to play an even greater role in the forthcoming campaign, with Matip retired and no replacement signed for the Cameroonian international.

Arne Slot replaced Klopp as Liverpool manager over the summer and named Quansah in his first Premier League lineup to take on Ipswich Town.

It might have felt like things were going to plan up until then, but Quansah was in for a rude awakening when Slot brought off the young centre-back for Ibrahima Konate at the half-time break, with the Dutchman saying that the Reds ‘lost too many duels’.

Quansah seemed to never regain Slot’s confidence after the opening day, as Liverpool comfortably became the Premier League champions.

A transfer looked to be the most natural outcome, with Slot’s stock high after becoming only the second manager after Klopp in the Premier League era to guide Liverpool to the title, and Quansah seemingly regressing, making fewer appearances than he did in his debut season.

Bayer Leverkusen came knocking and Quansah was jettisoned for an initial fee of £30m, with an additional £5m in add-ons.

Liverpool meanwhile brought in teenage centre-back Giovanni Leoni from Parma in the summer, and Jeremy Jacquet was signed in the winter for big money as the Reds moved on from missing out on Marc Guehi.

The hierarchy at Liverpool still rate Quansah highly though, with their esteem reflected through the buy-back clauses they inserted for 2026 and 2027.

Whether a deal could happen this summer though is up in the air and, according to German journalist Florian Plettenberg, Leverkusen and the player have had ‘no indication’ Liverpool will trigger the clause.

The clause is set at £69m, with Liverpool having the option to activate it until the end of May.

There could be several reasons for the lack of intent, as Liverpool look set for a summer of upheaval with more pressing priorities, while Slot’s future remains uncertain after a sub-par season.

Liverpool are also looking to extend Ibrahima Konate’s contract which expires this summer, with discussions ongoing from at least the summer.

Another reason might be that the buy-back clause for 2027 is rumoured to be lower at around £52m, coinciding with the expiry of Van Dijk’s deal.

Quansah has established himself as a regular in Germany and become an England international in the process, having debuted against Albania in November.

2027 might prove to be the ideal time for Quansah to return to Merseyside, potentially with a more settled playing squad and a new manager at the helm, to help the centre-back start anew at Anfield.