Mistreated £51m star DESERVES change of heart from Arne Slot

Arne Slot has made some bold calls during his tenure at Anfield so far, and not all have been fair.

Of course, the Reds won the Premier League last season, so it's plausible that the ends justified the means, regardless of any mistakes he might have made. This season, however, he's driving the fans crazy with some of his decisions and with Liverpool underperforming, they need to be pointed out.

Alexander Isak, for example, is playing as a striker, yet he receives so little of the ball, and is still expected to make something happen. Likewise, Florian Wirtz is being played all over the place, and in spite of his chance creation numbers, he's being vilified for his teammates' misses in front of goal.

During the 2024/25 campaign, a bold transfer call was made and it split the fanbase. Four months into the new season, it's clear that he was moved on in error. Now, it's time for Slot to make amends.

Quansah deserves to return to Anfield

Academy prospect Jarell Quansah was initially given a run in Jurgen Klopp's first-team squad back in 2023, and he excelled as the third choice centre-back, with Joe Gomez helping out at full-back.

He played 2673 minutes across the season, making his Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Europa League debuts. His ability to deliver for the Reds meant the pressure on Virgil Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate could be somewhat relieved. There were defensive options for Klopp to consider.

Just 45 minutes into his time working under Slot, however, the Englishman's reputation was brushed aside and he was never really able to recover. Slot gave him just 1297 minutes on the pitch, primarily because the focus was very much on playing Konate as often as possible. There was limited rotation.

Seventeen appearances and two own-goals later, Quansah was shipped off to Bayer Leverkusen for a mere £35m. The 22-year-old was not given a season to bounce back, and quite frankly, Liverpool have been significantly worse off because of the decision. Giovanni Leoni was brought in to replace him, although the Italian youngster has now torn his ACL, and the defence is a catastrophic mess.

Konate is set to be out of contract at the end of the season, and it looks as though he's playing with his mind elsewhere, making previously uncharacteristic errors. Occasionally, we're privy to flashes of his brilliance, but all too regularly, he's not at it. Liverpool are calling out for a player like Quansah.

Over in Germany, the Englishman is just 41 minutes away from surpassing last season's game time, and he's benefited greatly from the change in environment. He's scored twice, and is delivering performances that ouse confidence. He's an entirely different player now he's moved on from Slot.

Tuesday evening saw him feature for Leverkusen in a 2-0 win against Manchester City at the Etihad, winning three of his six duels, making five clearances, three blocks, two recoveries, and two accurate long-balls. His return to England couldn't have gone any better - securing an enornmous win at the very stadium where Liverpool were embarrassed 3-0 by Pep Guardiola a few weeks ago.

When the 22-year-old was transferred from Merseyside, a sell-on clause and a buy-back clause was embedded in the contract, meaning Liverpool were entitled to bring him back for £51m - per Give Me Sport - and it seems like a no-brainer for the Reds to do so. He looks to have found his footing in senior club football and Slot has a lack of centre-back options.

Currently, beyond Gomez covering Van Dijk and Konate, the options involve bringing Wataru Endo in, or taking Ryan Gravenberch from his ideal role in the midfield double-pivot as a hybrid No. 6/No. 8.

Whether Quansah would like to return is another question, and Slot would need to take a different approach to his man-management of him, but the options is there for Richard Hughes to consider and the evidence is stacking up on favour of him coming back to Liverpool. We need him.

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