- Jarell Quansah has already broken into Liverpool’s first team this season
- He has studied Virgil van Dijk’s game from a different angle than on TV
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Jarell Quansah studied the art of elite defending by asking Liverpool to provide him with wide-angle views of Virgil van Dijk and Jurgen Klopp’s other centre-halves.
The 20-year-old has broken through under Klopp this season, making his full Premier League debut in September and working his way into the England Under-21s.
The academy product revealed the attention to detail paid behind the scenes, with hours spent watching clips given to him by the club’s analytics department.
“I used to get high-cam footage instead of TV footage so you could see everything, how the backline is moving and a bit of everything,” he said.
‘You just have to ask the right people. The way I learn is by watching players. These players have played 400-500 matches at the highest level.
Jarell Quansah (left) has surprised Jurgen Klopp with how well he has done so far this season
Quansah has been studying Virgil van Dijk using wide-angle shots of his Reds teammate
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‘It would be stupid not to look at them. It would be like having a resource and just throwing it away. If I did that, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.
“Virgil makes everything look so easy, doesn’t he, and even when you’re standing next to him, it’s the same. It’s basically 24/7 learning.
‘I like watching different countries and the way they defend. In Spain I watched Sergio Ramos and (Leonardo) Bonucci in Italy and sometimes I go crazy and watch South American defenders. Especially Argentinian, because I like the way they defend, Cristian Romero.”
Quansah was loaned out to Bristol Rovers last season and made 16 appearances in League One. Klopp admitted he was amazed by the impact he has made so far this season.
“Surprised could be an interesting word, but I think he means I wasn’t expecting one yet,” Quansah added.
The England U21 star enjoys studying the art of defending in different countries to improve himself
“I don’t think it was, ‘It’s a surprise, I’ve trained with him before and he’s not a good player.’
“I think it was about how quickly it came and how I dealt with the adversity I got into.
“A loan to Bristol isn’t expected to see me go straight into the first team and do as well as I have. That’s where the surprise came from.
‘But there’s no reason for me to sit with what I have and say, ‘Oh yeah, I’ve played nine games for Liverpool.’ That has never been the end goal.
‘Nobody said he’s a centre-half, nobody said he’s all that, so until I’m considered at least one of the best players in the Premier League then there’s no reason for me to sit around what I have.’