Jarell Quansah may very likely be set to start for Liverpool’s defense again on Monday.
Jurgen Klopp’s penultimate game as manager of the Reds is against Aston Villa, one of Unai Emery’s top four contenders. The German tactician has already made a suggestion about who might start in the middle of the backline beside Virgil van Dijk for the league matchup next week. Ian Doyle of the Echo relayed comments on X (formerly Twitter) suggesting that Quansah has been gaining ground on Ibrahima Konate in training. With his aerial stats this season, the 21-year-old is already making good progress if Liverpool is searching for their next Virgil van Dijk.
According to FBref, the defender has won 65.6% of his aerial duels so far this season and is in the 89th percentile for aerials won relative to his teammates in the top five leagues in Europe. Not bad considering Virgil van Dijk’s average of 76.1% during his tenure with Southampton and Liverpool (which places him in the 98th percentile for aerials won this season). Naturally, there is still a long way to go before our Dutch colossus is truly recognized as his heir, but this season has been a fantastic breakthrough for the Academy graduate. We can’t wait to see what Arne Slot thinks of him.