A loan for Liverpool’s pre-season star could help make room for a key signing

Liverpool defender Jarrell Quansah looks set to leave the club on loan this season, depite a strong summer with the first-team.

The 20-year-old was one of the standout performers during their pre-season tour of Singapore and he was certainly a starring figure out of the 10 academy players who joined the first-team.

Currently, he sits as Liverpool’s sixth choice centre-back in the squad, with Virgil Van Dijk, Ibrahim Konate, Joe Gomez, Joel Matip and Nat Phillips all ahead of him.

However, Konate, Gomez and Matip suffer regular injuries and Phillips has been linked with a move away for the past four windows - which is why a loan move could open the door for some change at the back.

According to Neil Jones, however, Quansah looks set to head out on loan before the transfer window closes on the 1st of September.

He enjoyed a successful loan spell at Bristol Rovers in League One in the second half of last season and a step up to the Championship may be next up for the youth captain.

Leeds United were interested in a £10m move for Phillips but all talk of that has died down and it’s unclear if anyone will come in for the 26-year-old who will surely not earn much game time this season if he stays.

For Liverpool, a left-footed centre-back was a key target this summer alongside midfielders, but no move has yet been completed. Chelsea’s Levi Colwill was a key target but he opted to sign a six-year-deal at the club.

We had reported on the likes of Sporting Lisbon defender Gonaclo Inacio - a highly-rated defender who just had his release clause raised from £38m to £51m. He would be a perfect addition to their backline but players would need to leave in that position in order for that to happen.

Matip’s deal is expiring next summer and it’s likely he will leave at the end of his contract, meaning a move may be more suitable for then. Especially if Phillips also leaves, alongside another Quansah loan next summer, then a deal would be far more likely.

It’s clear that Andy Robertson is still adapting to his new role in Klopp’s altered system and someone like Inacio would be able to play that role more effectively.

However, as it stands, a defensive midfielder is more important acquisition to make but a defender is still a key target for the club.