Arne Slot could hand out Liverpool debut and unleash 18-year-old who is a 'Rolls Royce'

Kopites would have prayed for the best after Jarell Quansah trudged off the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium pitch.

Luckily, the 1-0 loss in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg was not compounded by the centre-back being ruled out for a significant period. Arne Slot confirmed after the game that Quansah had been ill beforehand. He was withdrawn in the 30th minute against Spurs because of sickness.

The England under-21 international is available for the FA Cup third-round tie against Accrington Stanley. Given Quansah’s lack of minutes this season, he’s likely to have been earmarked to start for some time.

Liverpool will definitely be without one centre-half in Joe Gomez, who has a hamstring issue and won’t be available for another few weeks. What's more, Slot will surely want to rest captain Virgil van Dijk against the League Two visitors at Anfield. And with Ibrahima Konate only just recovering from a knee injury, it might not be prudent to play him in such a low-key affair.

Wataru Endo replaced Quansah against Tottenham and barely put a foot wrong. Although he was signed as a midfield destroyer from Stuttgart, the 31-year-old spent much of his early career in Japan operating in defence. Endo could come to Slot’s aid again and operate in the rearguard.

Slot is likely to rotate against Accrington and several youngsters will be hoping for a chance. Certainly, you would think Amara Nallo is one hoping to be handed a Liverpool debut. The 18-year-old is well thought of in the academy having been signed from West Ham United in the summer of 2023. While at the Hammers, he was called a Rolls Royce by former Premier League striker Carlton Cole. The West Ham youth coach told the club’s website in May 2023: “I would describe Amara as a Rolls Royce of a centre-back. He has a great left foot and is elegant when he moves with the ball. He can play the ball with both feet and has been working on his heading as well. He’s a player who has a high ceiling.”

Nallo is still eligible to play for Liverpool under-18s but is well beyond that level. It's under-21s football which he primarily features in. He has also been involved in all six of the Reds under-19s' Uefa Youth League encounters. They play the same age-group opposition as Slot's side meet in the Champions League. In the games, Nallo has captained Barry Lewtas' troops on five occasions, including against Real Madrid.

The England under-19 international has also been on the bench for Liverpool’s first team on four occasions - most recently for a 2-1 Carabao Cup quarter-final win at Southampton last month. After that victory, in which 17-year-old Trey Nyoni made his full debut, Slot has admitted that Liverpool will always look for answers within the club when they have selection issues. “This club is known for this? These players train with us on a daily basis and it is nice to see they showed they can play at this level, Slot said after the Southampton game. “Now the next step is to be capable of playing for Liverpool.”

Nallo appears that he could be ready for the next step and could be the obvious solution if the Reds are short of senior defenders.