‘No-brainer’ – Liverpool told they should sign Chelsea and Arsenal transfer target

Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge has encouraged the club to activate their buy-back clause to re-sign Jarell Quansah next summer.

Quansah joined Liverpool’s academy at the age of just six and broke into the senior team in early 2023, going on to make 58 appearances in his first two seasons of first-team football at Anfield.

But Quansah made the tough decision to explore opportunities away from Liverpool after winning the Premier League title at the end of the 2024/25 campaign, with the versatile defender failing to nail down a regular starting role under Arne Slot.

Bayer Leverkusen were quick to make their interest known and went on to wrap up a £35million deal with the Merseyside giants for the 23-year-old England international.

It’s understood Liverpool have the option to sign Quansah back from the Bundesliga outfit for a fee of €70million (£67.5m) in June 2027 should they wish.

Real Madrid, Arsenal and Chelsea are all believed to be keeping close tabs on the situation, ready to pounce, with the latter said to have made initial enquiries to gauge Quansah’s potential availability.

‘I’d be looking to bring back Jarell Quansah. There’s a buyback option on him and, for me, it’s a no-brainer,’ ex-Liverpool forward Aldridge wrote in his column for the Liverpool Echo.

‘Next season, if Virgil van Dijk goes, you’re looking at it and we could have Ronald Araujo, Jeremy Jacquet, Giovanni Leoni and Quansah. That’s four great options.

‘Arne Slot didn’t fancy Quansah after that first game of the season against Ipswich. It showed as he didn’t really play him, didn’t really fancy him. But he’s proved Arne wrong.

‘He’s gone to Leverkusen and is doing really well. He’s playing well for England. For me, you need four really good centre-halves.’

According to Aldridge, re-signing Quansah should be deemed a ‘no-brainer’ and there is ‘no reason’ why Liverpool should not be looking to bring him home.

‘It’s a no-brainer to get Quansah back next year. Absolutely, 100 per cent. 100 per cent, man. As long as he wants to come,’ he added.

‘He’s a Warrington lad. I hope he’s a Liverpudlian. And if that’s the case, there’s no reason not to go and get him.

‘Liverpool has the buyback. If they want him, they have to go and get him. And then next year, centre-halves-wise, we’d be really solid.

‘That’s despite Virgil going after all his years of service he’s given us. There has been a question mark in the position since Joel Matip went. I wasn’t a big, big fan of Ibrahima Konate.’

Aldridge is confident a return for Quansah would represent a ‘wise move’ for the club, especially if Andoni Iraola is left with a Van Dijk-shaped hole that needs filling next summer.

He went on: ‘It’s like when you sow a seed, you start to see some nice roses growing. You think, “Oh, this could be a nice flower garden, this.”

‘But I think to get that, I think bringing back Quansah would be a wise move.

‘And then if Virgil goes, we’re talking about the possible next captain. Dominik Szoboszlai’s obviously a contender but what about Ronald Araujo? He’s been captain for Barcelona.

‘I know he’s just come to the club but he’s so experienced. He could be an option, too.’

Quansah has four years remaining on his current contract with Leverkusen.

Earlier this summer, Quansah suggested his path to England selection was helped by the ‘really tough decision’ he made to depart Anfield for German football last year.

‘It was a really tough decision, to be honest, to walk away from my boyhood club – a club I’ve been at all my life,’ he told reporters ahead of the Three Lions’ World Cup campaign.

‘But I just knew it was the best thing that I needed for my career, to be playing week in, week out.

‘People who know me know I back myself no matter what and I feel like I’m capable of playing at the highest level and I wanted to show that this season.’

He added: ‘To be rewarded being selected for the World Cup is an absolute honour and it’s all down to the hard work that I’ve put in over the past 12 months.

‘I feel like with every game I play, I’m getting better. I’m only young, so as long as I keep my head down, I keep grafting away, I know I’m going to be in a good place.

‘It’s just sticking to what I know and sticking to the goals that I’ve set myself and hopefully I can achieve everything I want.’

Quansah admitted he was still ‘getting used’ to playing right-back but gradually improving with more experience in the position.

‘I think you can say that throughout my career, I’ve sort of drifted along the back line, whether it be left or right centre-back, or right-back,’ he went on.

‘I’m comfortable playing all of them, to be honest, especially this past year, although it’s back three for Leverkusen I’m often in right-back positions.

‘I’m still getting used to it a little bit, but I feel like I’m getting better every time I play there.

‘I’ve probably only had a handful of games at right-back so I’m getting used to it but I think I’m getting better.’

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