(Video) Jarell Quansah pays poignant tribute to Diogo Jota after scoring on Bundesliga debut | OneFootball

Jarell Quansah needed just six minutes to score on his Bundesliga debut this afternoon, and the former Liverpool defender duly paid a heartfelt tribute to Diogo Jota.

The 22-year-old left Anfield for Bayer Leverkusen in a £35m deal at the start of July and made his competitive bow for Erik ten Hag’s side in the first round of the DFK-Pokal last weekend.

The German top flight is now underway, and the Warrington native hasn’t taken long to make an impact for his new club today.

Quansah makes an immediate impact for Leverkusen

With just over five minutes on the clock, Alex Grimaldo whipped in a free kick from the right flank and Quansah reacted quickest to get his head to the ball, diverting it beyond Hoffenheim goalkeeper Oliver Baumann to open the scoring.

A few minutes after the goal, Leverkusen’s official X channel shared an image of the ex-Liverpool defender performing Jota’s trademark video game celebration – which was replicated by numerous players in the days and weeks after his tragic death in early July – along with the caption ‘For you, Diogo’.

Quansah off to a flier as he seeks to become a regular starter this season

The Reds’ decision to sell Quansah last month may have raised some eyebrows, given the worrying lack of centre-back depth that it had left until the recent signing of Giovanni Leoni from Parma.

However, the 22-year-old made just four Premier League starts last season and was often overlooked by Arne Slot, and FSG evidently found it too difficult to turn down an initial £30m (plus a potential £5m in add-ons) for someone who wasn’t a fixed starter at Anfield.

His early goal this afternoon should help to make him a regular presence in Ten Hag’s preferred XI at Leverkusen, and if that does prove to be the case, our former defender will feel vindicated by his transfer decision.

Hopefully Quansah goes to enjoy plenty of success in Germany, and hopefully the LFC hierarchy won’t have any regrets about cashing in on him as the campaign progresses, if our defence were to be ravaged by injuries.

His commemoration of Jota will also be warmly appreciated by everyone back on Merseyside, with the 22-year-old immediately taking the opportunity to pay tribute to his beloved former teammate.

You can view Quansah’s first league goal for Leverkusen below, taken from beIN SPORTS’ match coverage and shared via @bostonandkingy on X: