To say it has been a topsy-turvy 12 months for Jarell Quansah would be a bit of an understatement.
This time last year, the 22-year-old was starting for Liverpool. For the final run of fixtures as manager, Jurgen Klopp backed Quansah over Ibrahima Konate. That was how highly-rated he was, at the time.
He was also in the preliminary England squad for Euro 2024 but failed to make the final cut for Gareth Southgate’s final tournament as manager of the Three Lions.
Last summer, he was valued at £50million by Newcastle. The Magpies were in talks with Liverpool as they looked to alleviate PSR pressure. The Reds were close to signing Anthony Gordon but didn’t want to sacrifice Quansah to land the England international.
Instead, they were prepared to offer up the more versatile Joe Gomez.
Even new Liverpool manager Arne Slot seemed to rate the centre-back.
He was his preferred choice next to Virgil van Dijk for the season opener against Ipswich. However, he was hauled off at half-time having struggled against Liam Delap.
Since then, he’s started just one other game in the Premier League - the 3-3 draw with Newcastle in November in a game he played at right-back due to injuries to Trent Alexander-Arnold and Conor Bradley.
He’s been given a few starts in the Carabao Cup and in meaningless games in the Champions League. It is safe to say he’s fallen out of favour with Slot. Such limited involvement in the first-team has seen the No78 linked with a move away from Anfield.
According to The Times, a move for Quansah has ‘significant support’ from key figures at St James’ Park with a £30million fee, plus add-ons, believed to potentially enough to tempt the Premier League leaders into selling.
The Carabao Cup winners are wanting to strengthen their defensive options this summer with Sven Botman their only current central defender younger than 30.
The fact his valuation has almost been halved over the past 12 months highlights how his stock has fallen.
And while Quansah was included in Thomas Tuchel's first England squad, he didn't feature in the wins over Albania and Latvia. He knows regular football could keep him in contention ahead of the World Cup next summer and that is no doubt something he has at the back of his mind right now.
Liverpool, meanwhile, believe he’s worth a lot more than that. Since his first-team emergence last season, he's broken into the England squad ahead of £60million rated Jarrad Branthwaite.
The Reds aren’t going to sell cheaply.
Not when they have some homegrown squad issues of their own on the horizon with Alexander-Arnold, Caoimhin Kelleher, Harvey Elliott and Gomez expected to leave this summer.
If Newcastle are serious about adding him to their squad, they’re going to have to part with a near club-record fee for the 22-year-old. Alexander Isak is currently the club’s most expensive buy at £68million.
And Isak is a target for Liverpool.
This could make the Quansah situation pretty interesting. The Reds weren’t willing to part ways with him last season when Gordon was attainable, maybe the chance to sign one of the best strikers in the world might be tempting enough.
This might explain why he’s valued so highly by those on Merseyside. The higher the price-tag, the better the deal looks if they’re able to use him as part of the transfer to bring the Sweden international to Anfield in the summer.
There is, of course, a world in which Liverpool are being sincere and they do believe he’s a serious talent with potential to grow into his role in Slot’s team. He’s still learning but he has the raw tools to be a top Premier League centre-back.
Combine that with the fact he’s English, homegrown and versatile - having filled in at right-back this term - and you can understand why he might be viewed as someone on the ‘not available for sale’ list this summer.
The Reds already have a lot to do, adding to this gives Richard Hughes even more of a headache.
How much of this is bravado by the runaway Premier League leaders though?
If they were serious about Quansah being the future of the club, why are the Reds one of the clubs in the market for Dean Huijsen? The Bournemouth centre-back has been sensational in his debut season in the English top-flight and is being courted by most of the top teams across Europe.
His £50million release clause makes him attainable and if the Reds can swap Quansah for Huijsen without having to add to the fee to bring the Dutch-born Spain international to the club, it would be viewed as a brilliant piece of business.
Club teammate Justin Kluivert inadvertently confirmed Huijsen’s impending departure away from the Cherries during the international break, saying: “I know that next year he won't be with us.”
And Huijsen does seem to have a bit of a soft spot for the Reds. He recently claimed Virgil van Dijk was “100%” the best centre-back in the world while claiming former Liverpool icon Joel Matip was among the most underrated defender in Premier League history.
Hughes and Michael Edwards have a lot to do this summer. Weighing up whether to keep Quansah over sacrificing him for the flavour of the month in Huijsen could be pivotal to the club’s short-term future.
Their decision will be a fascinating one.
Quansah would’ve been the undisputed winner last year but, as we know, a lot can change in the space of 12 months.
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