Jarell Quansah completes £30m move from Liverpool to Bayer Leverkusen

Jarell Quansah has completed his move from Liverpool to Bayer Leverkusen in a deal worth up to £35m. The 22-year-old enjoyed an impressive European Under-21 Championship campaign as part of the triumphant England side, but found opportunities limited at club level last season. The homegrown central defender started four Premier League games, 13 in all competitions, as Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté established a title-winning partnership.

Liverpool will receive a guaranteed £30m for Quansah plus £5m in add-ons. The deal is the third between the clubs this summer, following the Premier League champions’ acquisition of Jeremie Frimpong and record-signing Florian Wirtz.

Despite selling the young defender, who made his debut in 2023 and signed a new long-term contract at Anfield in October, Liverpool consider Quansah a player of rich potential and have negotiated a pre-agreed buy-back clause. “Everybody at LFC would like to thank Jarell for his contributions and wish him the very best for the future,” the club said.

“I was able to get a good impression of the team and the club when Liverpool played Leverkusen in the Champions League last season,” Quansah told Leverkusen’s website. “Brilliant team – for the first hour, they played like almost no other side at Anfield.

“The ambitious targets here were clearly explained to me during the negotiations. It’s a great role and challenge for me to be part of the current Leverkusen rebuild.”

Liverpool could strengthen their central defensive options with a move for the Crystal Palace captain, Marc Guéhi, but Palace will need to reduce their £65m asking price for a defender who has a year remaining on his contract.

Quansah’s departure from Liverpool comes on the same day it was confirmed that the former Arsenal and Barcelona midfielder Giovanni van Bronckhorst has joined the club as an assistant coach, subject to receiving a visa.

Van Bronckhorst, who has coached Feyenoord, Guangzhou, Rangers and most recently Besiktas, replaces Arne Slot’s former assistant and now Ajax head coach John Heitinga. Liverpool have also confirmed the return of Xavi Valero as their new head of first-team goalkeeper coaching. Valero worked for the club during Rafael Benítez’s reign and has spent the past seven years at West Ham. He replaces Fabian Otte, who is leaving after one season, while Brazil World Cup winner Claudio Taffarel is also stepping down as a Liverpool goalkeeping coach after four years.

Meanwhile, Jarrad Branthwaite has credited Everton’s new ambition under David Moyes as a key factor in his decision to sign a five-year contract with the club. The 23-year-old has been Everton’s young player of the year for the past two seasons.

Everton had previously resisted interest from Manchester United in the Carlisle-born defender, who would have in England’s European U21 Championship squad but for a hamstring injury.

Chelsea have also been linked with Branthwaite, but he said it was “an easy decision” to commit his future to Everton. He cited Moyes and the club’s new direction under the ownership of The Friedkin Group as key influences. “I’ve been at Everton for five-and-a-half years now and I’ve seen the change the club’s had over the past six months. It’s very exciting for us as a team, as players, to have that going on in the background and to be starting the new season at the new stadium. The ambition was a huge thing.

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View image in fullscreen Jarrad Branthwaite attracted interest from Manchester United and Chelsea but has decided to commit his future to Everton. Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Action Images/Reuters

“The way the manager wants us to go as a team and what he wants us to do for next season and where he wants us to challenge for has had a big impact on the decision. I think you saw towards the end of last season as a team what we can do. The manager has been really good, not only for me but for the group. You saw the change in results, the change in mood since he came in. He drives the demands every day to be better.”

Moyes said: “He is still only 23 and his best years are hopefully still ahead of him. We believe he can have a huge role to play in an exciting new era at the football club.”

Everton remain in talks with Villarreal over their France Under-21 international striker Thierno Barry. The 22-year-old, who scored 11 goals in La Liga last season, has a release clause of €40m (£34.4m), but Everton are attempting to negotiate a lower fee. Michael Keane, who is out of contract, has been offered a new deal and is expected to stay.

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