Jarell Quansah, a young player for Liverpool, has thought back on his season-long breakthrough into the first squad.
The youthful defender talked about how it felt to make his first-team debut earlier in the season and shared his prior experiences, which helped him get ready for life in the Premier League.
The centre back, who was born in Warrington, joined the Reds academy at the age of five. Earlier this season, during the club’s comeback victory over Newcastle, he made his debut for his hometown team as a substitute.
After spending a portion of 2022–2023 on loan at Bristol Rovers, the 20-year-old has made six appearances for Liverpool across all competitions and appears to be a high potential going forward.
Quansah told Liverpoolfc.com about his experience making his debut at St James Park, saying, “It’s crazy, you can’t put it into words really. For my family, there are a lot of proud individuals who have seen me since I was a small child, taken me to training on half-days, and worked additional hours in support of me. It’s just an overwhelming emotion. Thus, the greatest feeling was definitely being able to repay my family for everything they have done for me with such love. That was the nicest feeling I could have after making my debut.”
During an injury scare for Jurgen Klopp’s team prior to an away trip to Tottenham in 2021, Quansah was first included in the Liverpool matchday squad. The youthful defender acknowledged that he was “nowhere near” prepared for the demands of playing football for a first-team squad at the time, but he did learn from his benchwarming experiences.
“You think yourself ready at that point, but looking back, I was nowhere near where I needed to be,” he remarked.
“Thus, things may have turned out differently if I had signed on.
“That’s just my opinion, but I believe that in the past several years, I’ve grown up. Thus, there was definitely a chance to just sit on the bench and take it all in at that time. That stadium gets really loud, so obviously I was on the bench for the Spurs away game. That really did assist me a great deal, I would think.”
Speaking prior to Liverpool’s Carabao Cup last-16 trip to Bournemouth, Quansah is anticipated to have a significant impact on the Reds’ cup run this season.
“It has been shown to be a good opportunity for the younger lads,” he remarked, considering the importance of those competitions. It’s certainly one I should try to take.”
He said, “I was in the stands [for the 2022 Carabao Cup final],” in another part of the conversation. Fantastic atmosphere, the younger guys were there, and we were right near to the Liverpool end.
“It was evident that you were ecstatic for the team, and it meant a lot to me to be a part of that.”