Updated: 28 May 2026 17:11 BST |
4 min read
Liverpool have made their decision on whether or not to re-sign Bayer Leverkusen defender Jarell Quansah this summer.
The centre-back left the Reds last summer after falling down the pecking order in Arne Slot’s first season at Anfield. Quansah had been one of the revelations of Jurgen Klopp’s final year as Liverpool boss, but he struggled under the German’s successor.
First impressions are important, and Quansah, unfortunately, failed to impress the Dutchman. Slot hooked him at half-time in his first game in charge of Liverpool, with things going downhill from there.
The 23-year-old’s departure in 2025 was ultimately no surprise, though in hindsight, Liverpool would have been well advised to keep him, given their defensive struggles this term. However, Quansah wanted out and would have been unhappy had he been forced to stay.
It was the correct decision from his point of view. He joined Bayer Leverkusen for €35 million and, despite the club’s struggles, enjoyed a solid personal season in the Bundesliga. His form earned him his England debut in November and now a World Cup call-up as well.
Liverpool’s Quansah decision
When Liverpool sold him, they recognised that he still had immense potential and included provisions in the deal, allowing them to re-sign Quansah in the future. The future is now, but Liverpool will not exercise their clause… yet.
According to BILD, the first buy-back clause in the defender’s deal is about to expire, and the Reds have decided not to bring him back this summer. Doing so would simply have been too pricey.
It was initially thought that Liverpool would only be able to re-sign Quansah in 2027 at the earliest, but it was later revealed that there is already a clause in his contract for this summer. However, this clause is worth a whopping €80m.
Of course, Liverpool would effectively pay just €45m for Quansah because of the €35m Leverkusen spent on him last year, which would be in line with his Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €43.8m, but it would still represent a significant outlay when there is no urgency to bring him back.
Jeremy Jacquet is set to join this summer, and Giovanni Leoni should return from his ACL injury soon. If Liverpool can manage to convince Ibrahima Konate to sign a contract extension – which admittedly looks unlikely right now – they would be well-stocked at centre-back.
Liverpool want Quansah to keep developing at a high level at Leverkusen, who are poised to make an exciting coaching appointment. The 23-year-old could learn from Oliver Glasner or Andoni Iraola next season.
The German outlet states that it will be a different story next year as far as a return to Liverpool is concerned. As things stand, the Anfield club are planning to bring Quansah back in 2027 “as a key player, not simply to make up the numbers.”
The price of his clause drops to €60m next year. With his value likely to rise further – it has jumped from €24.2m to €43.8m since September – this is promising to go down as a brilliant piece of business by Richard Hughes and company.
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