Jurgen Klopp seems to confirm 21-year-old has now achieved REMARKABLE feat
Jurgen Klopp appeared to confirm that Jarell Quansah has achieved something quite remarkable at Liverpool this season.
Jurgen Klopp gave his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon and discussed his team ahead of Aston Villa on Monday. He had some interesting comments on his centre-backs, in particular.
Klopp was asked about Jarell Quansah starting against Tottenham Hotspur. That was a surprise inclusion, given the 21-year-old doesn't boast anything like the reputation of Ibrahima Konaté or Joe Gomez at the back.
But the Liverpool boss made it clear - the selection was one based on merit.
“It’s just like that we play once a week and we just look at who looks in the best moment, and Jarell is one of them," said Klopp.
“That’s how it is and we don’t play with three centre-halves or whatever, so it means we have to make a decision and Jarell is training really well and we have a lot of training sessions, he is training really well.
“That doesn’t mean Ibou [Konate] or Joey [Gomez] wouldn’t train well, but Jarell trained really well and that’s how it is and that’s why I make these kind of decisions. That’s the best situation to have, I can just sit there and look at it."
Jarell Quansah has achieved the remarkable
So with that, we essentially get confirmation that Klopp views Quansah as first-choice right now, alongside Virgil van Dijk. It's worth taking a moment to appreciate just how incredible that is.
Quansah, after all, had played just 16 senior games before this season and they all came last season in League One. His rise this season has been brilliant, forcing his way into Liverpool's first-team plans.
But to end the season as Van Dijk's preferred partner? Absolutely no one could have predicted that last summer. No one would have predicted it at the turn of the year.
What Quansah has achieved this season has been sensational - something you rarely, if ever, see at the very top level from a young centre-back. The future couldn't really look any brighter.