Liverpool have held “concrete talks” with Bayer Leverkusen over a possible deal for Jarell Quansah, but the German club would need a record spend to sign him.
Quansah has emerged as a genuine target for Leverkusen as they look to reinvest some of the funds brought in from the sales of Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong.
With centre-back Jonathan Tah also having left, joining Bayern Munich on a free transfer, Erik ten Hag’s side are seeking a replacement.
Following previous reports from The Athletic‘s Gregg Evans, corroborating Leverkusen’s interest in Quansah, Sky Germany‘s Florian Plettenberg has claimed “concrete talks” over a transfer.
However there is “nothing advanced” at this stage, with “talks ongoing” and crucially “independent from the Wirtz deal” after earlier claims of a potential player-plus-cash agreement.
Leverkusen are “focused” on Quansah, despite transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano naming Sevilla’s Loic Bade as an alternative.
Clearly, Liverpool will not allow the 22-year-old to leave on the cheap, having tied him down to a new long-term contract in October.
Evans reports that Quansah is “valued in excess of £40 million,” though he is more frequently quoted as being priced even higher at £50 million.
Club sources communicated that via the Mail‘s Lewis Steele and Liverpool journalist David Lynch at the end of May, with the academy graduate described as a “genuine candidate for a departure.”
“Few would have predicted it last summer, but Quansah is a genuine candidate for a departure in this transfer window,” Lynch wrote on his Substack.
“The 22-year-old is wanted by clubs in England and Germany and is thought to be keen on securing more game time after a frustrating season.
“Were Liverpool to reluctantly let him go, a valuation of around £50 million would have to be met.”
It is not out of the realms of possibility that Quansah will leave Liverpool this summer, particularly after Virgil van Dijk‘s contract extension and positive noises around talks with Ibrahima Konate.
Though he has shown excellent potential the lack of consistency in his appearances looked to have affected Quansah’s form last season, with a number of mistakes clouding otherwise strong performances.
Even if Konate does not re-sign the pathway may still be blocked, with Liverpool known to be targeting a new centre-back and among the clubs who courted Dean Huijsen prior to his £50 million move to Real Madrid.
Liverpool will need to consider their homegrown quota, particularly if others such as Harvey Elliott and Tyler Morton move on, but bids in the region of £50 million will be hard to turn down.
Leverkusen’s record signing is Karem Demirbay, signed for around £27 million in 2019.
