£70m "monster" now wants to sign for Liverpool – he's a big Quansah upgrade
Is this really Liverpool? Remarkably, FSG are firing on all cylinders in the summer transfer market, acting with the viciousness of the champions that they are.
Indeed, Arne Slot led Liverpool to the Premier League title last season, shouldering the unenviable weight of Jurgen Klopp’s still-warm seat in the dugout. And he did it with minimal investment, only welcoming Federico Chiesa to the fold for £12.5m in August 2024.
FSG have long towed the line between shrewdness and frugality in transfer windows, but with Michael Edwards back in the boardroom, there’s a newfound sense of awareness that Anfield stands atop a mountainous pile of European clubs vying for the ascendancy.
But for all the Florian Wirtz’s, the Jeremie Frimpong’s and Milos Kerkez’s, there are some outgoings in the pipeline too.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s already gone, and the 31-year-old Andy Robertson is being chased by Atletico Madrid. And the backline is set for more shake-up, with Jarell Quansah on the brink of a move abroad.
Why Liverpool are selling Jarell Quansah
Quansah, 22, is a fantastic talent. Across the past two campaigns, he has proven himself worthy of a place in Liverpool’s first team, winning the Carabao Cup and the English top flight and appearing 58 times in total.
However, he suffered a setback right at the start of Slot’s tenure, withdrawn at half-time during the season opener against Ipswich Town, Slot later citing his team’s lack of success in the duel as the reason behind the tweak.
Features proved few and far between over the next several months, and though the English ace played a larger role over the later months of the term, he will no doubt be frustrated by his lack of opportunities.
It’s for this reason that negotiations have moved apace with Bayer Leverkusen, who are closing on an agreement for the transfer of Quansah, worth €40m (£34m).
A formal bid has not yet been made, but all parties expect an agreeable resolution, with personal terms not thought to be an issue.
As such, Liverpool will need to sign themselves a replacement – and they’ve got one in mind all right.
Liverpool set to bid for new centre-back
According to The Telegraph, Liverpool are expected to make a ‘significant offer’ for Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi, who helped his side win the FA Cup in May.
Though a formal approach has not yet been made, Scott Wilson of the Northern Echo has reported that the Reds are ‘firm favourites’ to sign the central defender, with Football Insider even stating that he’s told friends he “wants to join Liverpool”.
Guehi is entering the final year of his contract at Selhurst Park, so although Tottenham Hotspur tabled a £70m bid in January, Eagles chairman Steve Parish will know that his bargaining chips are diminishing, for the Reds could snap him up on a free next year.
Why Liverpool want Marc Guehi
Guehi’s contract situation means FSG hold the cards (or, at least, more than they would have a year or two ago). And it’s a good thing, for the central defender is one of the most talented and complete defenders in the Premier League.
A strong and secure presence, Oliver Glasner has unlocked a new level of ball-playing quality at Palace that Guehi has latched onto and used to foster his technical skill.
Last season, he was an iron-solid star for his side, instrumental in beating Manchester City to win the FA Cup.
The 24-year-old is entering his prime years and has now acquired a certain taste for silver, but it’s not the Magpies he will be joining; instead, Liverpool could provide this titan with a home to grow into one of the best defenders across Europe, surpassing Quansah in Slot’s ranks.
Quansah’s 2024/25 campaign was perhaps not the best representation of his potential, so instead, see below the Englishmen’s statistics contrasted against each other in the Premier League, Guehi’s from last year, and the Merseyside talent’s from 2023/24, under Klopp’s leadership.
Matches (starts)
17 (13)
34 (34)
Goals
2
3
Assists
0
2
Touches*
76.5
64.9
Pass completion
89%
84%
Key passes*
0.2
0.5
Ball recoveries*
4.2
4.3
Dribbles*
0.2
0.4
Tackles + interceptions*
2.5
2.6
Clearances*
2.3
4.6
Duels (won)*
4.5 (64%)
4.9 (59%)
Now, it might feel like at a glance the younger Three Lions star (who has been called up but not yet made his official debut) has outperformed Guehi, but the Palace man’s inferior pass completion rate and success in the duel, which is largely down to the 6 foot 3 Liverpool talent’s dominance, is circumstantial.
Last season, Guehi won 63% of his ground duels (Quansah won 60% in 2023/24) in a Palace side which battled adversity near the bottom of the table in the earlier phases of the campaign and still throughout fought on a lower rung of the ladder than Slot’s title-challenging Reds.
It goes without saying that Guehi was in the thick of more defensive action, and a move to Merseyside would see his crispness on the ball developed while adding a progressive, mobile quality which has led one analyst to hail him as “England’s best centre-back.”
The south London centre-half, moreover, ranked among the top 9% of positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues last season for goal involvements, the top 12% for shot-creating actions, and the top 18% for blocks per 90, as per FBref.
The Premier League perhaps hasn’t yet woken up to this player’s underrated passing game, but they will.
Slot is happy to sell Quansah for a reason. Though the prospect is highly talented and may yet become a player of distinction under Erik ten Hag’s mentorship at Leverkusen, Guehi is simply a cut above, a “monster in defence”, as has been noted by reporter Bobby Manzi.
We’ll hark back to that earlier point: Slot was frustrated by Quansah’s lack of success in the duel last August, later suggesting that he’s “outgrown being a talent” and perhaps needs to play with regularity, something the Dutch boss is not willing to offer him at Anfield.
Liverpool are aiming for the stars this summer, and by bringing in Guehi to rival Van Dijk and Konate in central defence, the club’s lofty ambitions might just be realised.
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