One Liverpool defender who’s been linked with a potential summer exit from Anfield has said that he now feels ready to ‘take the next step’ in his career.
On Saturday, Reds fans were hit with the bombshell news (reported by Fabrizio Romano) that Andy Robertson is seemingly keen on joining Atletico Madrid, with ‘initial talks’ having already taken place as Los Rojiblancos make the 31-year-old their ‘top target’ at left-back.
The long-serving Scot isn’t the only member of Arne Slot’s backline whose future on Merseyside may be in doubt.
Graeme Bailey recently warned (via TBR Football) that Ibrahima Konate could be sold in the next few weeks if the club are unable to forge a breakthrough in contract talks., while Fabrizio Romano has claimed (via X) that Bayer Leverkusen have made contact regarding a potential swoop for Jarell Quansah.
What has Quansah now said about his future?
The latter is currently representing England at the European Under-21 Championship and has been speaking about his career ahead of the defending champions’ clash against Slovenia on Sunday.
The Liverpool defender said (via The Athletic): “It’s definitely developing. I’m not getting too high or too low with anything.
“I think I can take massive learnings from the three seasons I’ve had in professional football. From Bristol Rovers (on loan in 2023) until now, to put perspective and look back, I’m in a very good position to take the next step. It comes with working hard and staying focused on what I can control.
“As for the future, it’ll put me in the best stead if I just keep my head down and keep working.”
Liverpool could be set for major transition in defence this summer
It’s unclear from Quansah’s comments whether he intends for that ‘next step’ to be taken as a Liverpool player or at a different club, but his choice of words will raise intrigue amid the reports of Leverkusen’s interest.
The 22-year-old had been on the verge of making the final England squad for Euro 2024 a year ago but subsequently lost his starting berth at Anfield to Konate, whose own future has been plunged into doubt amid the apparent impasse over his contract, which now has just over 12 months remaining.
It always seemed likely that there’d be a changing of the guard in L4 this summer, but the Merseysiders must be wary of the prospect of too much turnover in a short space of time, especially in defence.
Trent Alexander-Arnold has already flown the coop to Real Madrid, while suddenly it looks as though Robertson could also be bound for the Spanish capital in the colours of Atletico.
When those are added to the viability of Konate being sold in the coming weeks, it’s not unthinkable that 75% of Arne Slot’s main starting back four from 2024/25 might no longer be at Liverpool by the end of August.
At least we can be thankful that the one first-choice defender who’s definitely sticking around is Virgil van Dijk, our colossal captain, while Jeremie Frimpong has already picked up at Anfield and seems increasingly likely to be joined by Milos Kerkez.
Two years after the Reds’ midfield was effectively gutted and rebuilt, could something similar be happening in our defence this summer?
