England Euro 2024 decision shouldn't deter Liverpool's £49m duo as the future is bright

England’s final 26-man squad will not have either of the talented Liverpool duo Jarell Quansah and Curtis Jones - but the future is bright for both stars for differing reasons.

Gareth Southgate has the unenviable task of shortening his 33-man preliminary squad to 26 players and with a huge amount of quality across the board, it is just unfortunate that some players have to miss out. While the full list is yet to be released, we’ve decided to focus on the Liverpool duo (valued at a combined £49m) who have missed out.

Jarell Quansah

Quansah has gone from an outside squad player to the England squad within one season. Prior to that, he had featured just 16 times at senior level for Bristol Rovers. It’s a remarkable story and one that wouldn’t have happened without a bit of luck; Joel Matip’s unfortunate long-term injury allowed Quansah to pick up the extra games across all competitions and he impressed in every competition he found himself in.

Only 21, he has a huge future ahead of him. His physical gifts are complimented by a brilliant ball-playing ability and the biggest surprise was how at ease how looked in his debut campaign. He even managed to start ahead of Ibrahim Konate on several occasions and the Frenchman is now lining up for France as a starting centre-back.

With the likes of Harry Maguire and John Stones in their 30’s, it won’t be long before the next batch of defenders come through at centre-back. The likes of Jarrad Branthwaite, Marc Guehi, Ezri Konsa and Fikayo Tomori are all chomping at the bit to be involved and in the years to come, if Quansah can continue his development, he will be right up there as one of England’s best options in that position. This is just the beginning.

Curtis Jones

Prior to April 2023, the future of Jones at Liverpool was up in the air. He had rarely started games across the 2022/23 campaign and with money set to be spent in the 2023 summer market, his time looked numbered at the club. However, he then put together a brilliant run of games at the end of the season and played himself into the best form of his Liverpool career, at the right time.

Going from outsider to starter, he had began to fully realise his potential in midfield. His ball retention, football IQ, weight of pass and close control had all come together expertly and, suddenly, he was a starter under Jurgen Klopp. Now that become a much tougher task when £150m’s worth of talent arrived last summer but he still managed 36 appearances and five goals and three assists.

Injuries and controversial suspensions meant he missed out on at least another 10 appearances, but his emergence in midfield was important as that type of player at this level doesn’t exist in great quantities. Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton and Manchester United’s Kobbie Mainoo both bursting onto the scene is the main reason why he’s missed out - those two are younger and being backed for big futures and have taken their chances under Southgate, Jones is yet to feature but there is no reason why that can’t happen in the future if he can perform under Arne Slot.