Liverpool have decided against bringing Jarell Quansah back to Anfield this summer, even as a growing injury list leaves new head coach Andoni Iraola short of defensive options.
The Reds have been hit by a series of setbacks in defence during pre-season. Summer signings Giovanni Leoni and Jeremy Jacquet are both unavailable through injury, while Joe Gomez has also been sidelined after suffering a fresh knock.
Those absences prompted Iraola to admit Liverpool are desperately short at the back.
“So with the centre-back, right-back situation, in terms of defensive depth, we are very thin right now, so it’s a solution that we are trying to find.”
One obvious solution appeared to be Quansah, who joined Bayer Leverkusen last summer in a deal worth up to £35 million. Liverpool inserted a buyback clause into the agreement, reportedly valued at around £70 million, giving the club the option of re-signing the England international in the future.
However, despite the current shortage of centre-backs, Liverpool have no plans to activate that clause during this transfer window, according to BBC Sport.
The decision is also influenced by the structure of Quansah’s contract. While Liverpool have held internal discussions about a possible return, the buyback clause does not officially become active until 2027, meaning any move this summer would require fresh negotiations with Bayer Leverkusen.
Instead, Liverpool are exploring alternative defensive reinforcements.
The Merseyside club are understood to be considering a move for Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa, whose ability to operate at both centre-back and right-back makes him an attractive option. Arsenal are also believed to be monitoring the England international.
Liverpool have also been linked with Paris Saint-Germain defender Illia Zabarnyi, while previous interest in John Stones has ended after the England international opted to join Inter Milan.
Iraola also provided an update on Jeremy Jacquet’s recovery after Gomez’s latest injury.
“Probably the worst news has been straight away the injury of Joe. We were happy because we were going through training without losing any players and unluckily for us we’ve lost Joe straight away.
“With Jeremy we decided to take it easy with him, he’s had a lot of months without playing, he’s been training very well, but we’re going to take it easy with him. He will play probably in the last game of this U.S. tour, he will have time to have minutes, but we were kind of happy, but we’ve lost one now.”
Quansah, meanwhile, has impressed during his first season in Germany after leaving Liverpool in search of regular first-team football. Although the Reds continue to monitor his development closely, a return to Anfield is not on the agenda for now despite their defensive concerns.
