Jarell Quansah takes on surprise mantle for Liverpool with latest assist

Jarell Quansah is continuing to impress in his breakout season for Liverpool, grabbing the assist for Luis Diaz's opener against Fulham on Wednesday.

The 20-year-old, who was on loan at League One Bristol Rovers last season, has been a fine addition to Jurgen Klopp's squad, making 16 appearances in all competitions so far in 2023/24.

The Warrington-born defender's rise to prominence has even helped stop Liverpool's hierarchy from descending into a full panic amid multiple defensive injuries this season.

Ahead of the January transfer window, Klopp even suggested that Quansah stepping up to add an extra option at centre back in the senior set-up has negated the need for new recruits this month.

While Quansah's assured defending has been a pleasant surprise, what has been even more unexpected is the youngster's creative output.

With his raking cross-field assist for Diaz in the first half of the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at Craven Cottage, Quansah took his tally of lay-ons in 2023/24 to three.

Impressively, that makes him the Reds' fourth-highest assist maker this season, behind only Darwin Nuñez (10), Mohamed Salah (8) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (8).

In addition, as noted by Squawka, no player has more assists in the Carabao Cup (3) than Liverpool's No. 78 this season.

Praising Quansah last year, Klopp revealed that he and the Liverpool staff had been aware of the youngster's potential for some time.

The manager said: "There couldn’t be better news for the club, to be honest. Before this season, people told us we should buy a centre-half. We knew we had Jarell. Did we know that he would show up like this? Not exactly, but we were pretty hopeful. So the future’s bright. He is our own boy, calm on the ball, good in the challenges, quick, ruthless in the right moments."