Jurgen Klopp predicted shock £35m transfer as Liverpool stick to Cole Palmer model

Jurgen Klopp predicted shock £35m transfer as Liverpool stick to Cole Palmer model

Jarell Quansah is close to leaving Liverpool for Bayer Leverkusen in a potential £35m transfer

Arne Slot and Jurgen Klopp (Image: Getty Images )

Jarell Quansah is set to leave Liverpool for Bayer Leverkusen in a £35m deal as the Reds once again reap the benefits of their academy. The 22-year-old had previously been touted as a possible long-term successor for Virgil van Dijk.

But he now looks set to leave Anfield less than two years after making his professional debut for the club.

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The centre-back shone in his first season as part of the Liverpool first team under Jurgen Klopp, making 33 appearances and finishing the campaign as first-choice. But while he initially retained the position under Arne Slot, he was withdrawn at half-time on the opening day of the season against Ipswich Town and ultimately took his time to recover his form after the early setback.

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Despite Quansah’s early potential, the Reds have decided to sanction the defender’s exit in a move that will surprise some onlookers.

After all, he signed a new long-term contract with Liverpool only last October, with few predicting that Quansah would be making a permanent exit when putting pen to paper on such terms less than a year later.

However, such a move is normal practice under Liverpool’s transfer model , with the Reds raising over £300m when selling academy graduates and young players signed from other clubs over the past decade.

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It’s the ruthless side of football. No matter how talented and exciting a youngster looks at an elite club, very few become first team regulars. Klopp even conceded as much in one of his last interviews as Liverpool manager back in May.

"You always can [improve] but the basis is absolutely great,” the German said of the squad he was leaving behind . “Look at the age of the midfield, really top.

“Stefan Bajcetic is back, that’s really cool. A centre-half if you have to buy him, you have to go really deep into the pockets. A right-back, if you need to buy one, you have to go really deep into your pockets.

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"Stefan, if you want to have a player like that, it’s really expensive. Up front, Jayden Danns, Lewis Koumas, Bobby Clark, James McConnell, they all did really well. That is the future of the club.

“Some will be here, some will go on loan, some will be sold. That’s all part of the thing. The basis we created is really good and that was the job I thought and how I understood that I had to do.”

The ECHO understands that the Reds are now prioritising bringing in a young centre-back with high potential to replace Quansah, having previously missed out on Levi Colwill, Leny Yoro and Dean Huijsen.

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However, Liverpool are also admirers of Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi, who could be available for a relatively cut-price fee given that he has just one year left on his contract.

If the Reds were to sign a young centre-back with potential, such an addition would immediately strengthen the squad as cover. They would then either develop into a starter, perhaps succeeding Ibrahima Konate if he does not sign a new contract or emerging as a long-term replacement for Virgil van Dijk, or later be sold on for potential profit.

Alternatively, if Liverpool opt to pursue Guehi, they would be moving for a more polished article to strengthen directly in the here and now.

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While the 22-year-old Quansah has made 30 Premier League appearances, of which 17 have come from the start, the 24-year-old Guehi has been a regular in the English top-flight for the past four seasons.

Capped 23 times by England, he now boasts 217 club appearances under his belt, with 132 coming in the Premier League. Meanwhile, Guehi is seen as the Three Lions’ leading centre-back. While Quansah has been called up, he is yet to be handed a senior cap.

This is the market Liverpool are in now, having won every major honour - including two Premier League titles - over the past six seasons. They want to be the best, they need to start and sign the best and are acting accordingly.

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So few of their academy graduates will become guaranteed first team starters. The Reds can be patient with potential, but they also need players who are ready now to maintain their success.

Consequently, potential is sold for maximum profit, when the time comes, after gaining experience supporting the first team. That in turn is then reinvested back into the Liverpool starting XI and squad.

Klopp gave a plethora of youngsters their initial breakthrough at Liverpool, while opportunities have continued under Slot.

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Excelling at recruiting young talent in recent years, the Reds have continued to snap up a plethora of best in class domestic talents. It is smart investment, made safe in the knowledge that such players - while given their first taste of senior football at Anfield - are likely to succeed in the game with their values rising accordingly.

From a business point-of-view, with no room for sentimentality, such a model is an obvious success. Players are quickly being sold for profit which then helps strengthen the squad, rather than relying on your initial investments to become the finished article.

Sure, you can play the long-term game. But football is all about the here and now in search for immediate success, and Anfield bosses are playing the odds.

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Selling for profit is far more likely than blooding the next global superstar from start to finish, with Klopp spelling out exactly what would happen. When you are an elite club, most youngsters will only pass through before being sold on.

This is not unique to Anfield either. You only need to look to former Man City starlet Cole Palmer, now one of the Premier League's leading stars at Chelsea after moving to Stamford Bridge in a £42.5m deal in September 2023, for the most high-profile of examples.

Sticking with Chelsea, Guehi is also an example of such a practice having joined Crystal Palace from their fellow Londoners in an £18m deal in the summer of 2021. He had made just two appearances for the Stamford Bridge outfit, both in the League Cup, before thriving on loan with Swansea City during 18 months in the Championship.

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Quansah has played his part for Liverpool over the past two seasons, and helped them win the Premier League. At one point, he was tipped as a Van Dijk successor. But with the Dutchman signing a new contract back in April, such a door closed - at least for now.

As a result, his impending switch to Bayer Leverkusen is just the latest example of a transfer model that Klopp lifted the curtain on little over a year ago.

Ultimately, first under the German's watch and now with Slot at the helm, as talented as so many of their youngsters are, Liverpool just find themselves fishing at a bigger pond as they look to continue to challenge for Premier League and Champions League glory.

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