Liverpool already have star who outperformed Manchester United's £50m 'signing'

Liverpool’s pursuit of Lille wonderkid Leny Yoro was supposed to end with Real Madrid acquiring him but Manchester United’s sudden deal has been considered a transfer blow.

The 18-year-old was reportedly set for a move to Real Madrid, a move that was only being held back by the two clubs demands for transfer fees. Yet, United came in with a sensational offer and blew all other clubs out of the water with a big-money deal until 2029. And they are now set to complete a £50m move, subject to a medical.

With Joel Matip exiting and the future of Virgil van Dijk uncertain, reports around Liverpool have listed centre-backs as potential targets this summer. Even the returning Sepp van den Berg is linked with a move away to PSV Eindhoven suggesting that an outside signing would be preferred, despite his clear improvements.

Some fans have blasted the fact that Liverpool have allowed a top talent such as Yoro, who was the only U23 in the top five leagues to win over 60% of his aerial & ground duels as well as completing over 90% of his passes and is clearly a top talent. However, while it may be difficult to see a rival sign such a talented figure, Liverpool’s Jarell Quansah produced a superior season to the ex-Lille defender.

Having been promoted into the first-team after just 16 senior games of football in League One on loan, he ended the season alongside Van Dijk, demoting Ibrahim Konate to the bench. It was a clear example of how brilliant the 21-year-old was last season. He made 27 starts in total and has already established himself as one of the best young defenders in European football.

For reference, he outshone Yoro across many metrics last season, according to DataMB, all while performing in a far superior league. The Frenchman beat Quansah in terms of aerial duel % and forward pass %, ranking in the 94th and 91st percentiles respectively.

But Quansah dominated across the board when it came to passes total, progressive passes, defensive actions, defensive duel rate and progressive carries. The biggest disparity came with defensive actions and progressive passes and Quansah has proven that Liverpool already have their own superstar, wonderkid at the back - and he didn’t cost them £50m.