Jarell Quansah has Jurgen Klopp feeling 'pure joy' right now

Jurgen Klopp has gushed about Jarell Quansah this week after the Liverpool defender played his 22nd game for the club. The 21-year-old has made 'massive development' this season.

The rise of Jarell Quansah this season has been incredible to see. There wasn't much talk about him even at the start of the summer, with Quansah coming off a 16-game loan spell at Bristol Rovers.

But injuries and a mountain of games led to the young defender getting a few opportunities to start the campaign. Those opportunities have grown into Quansah being a true member of the squad.

22 appearances in all now, from Premier League starts to 15 minutes in the Carabao Cup final to 90 minutes in a Europa League Last 16 tie. It's been an incredible rise and one Jurgen Klopp absolutely recognises.

“Massive, massive development. Massive. He just stepped up," said Klopp this week. "He came back and it wasn’t that everybody in the club was saying, ‘yeah, he will be the next one’.

“We knew he is a real talent, we knew he has massive strength, especially on the ball, stuff like this, but how will he deal with the next-quality Premier League strikers? How is that physically, stuff like this?

“We wanted to give us the chance and him the time to show that, and we thought the situation in the squad was right to do so. If you want, centre-half No. 5 in that moment.

“Joey [Gomez] was not immediately planned as a right or left-back backup, because we had obviously Conor [Bradley], who then got injured, and we had the two left-backs.

“So it was not necessary, so we thought that was a good situation to have a look. He showed immediately that he wants to be in the team in each session and it’s a joy, a pure joy, to have him.”

Jarell Quansah keeps improving

Quansah has gone from being a League One footballer to a player on course to receive a Premier League medal, should things go Liverpool's way this season. It's been incredible - and he's a player whose rise should only continue.

Playing alongside Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté - two players with a somewhat similar style - helps immeasurably. Not to mention that Quansah's overall skillset is just made for the modern game.

He's tall, physical, and quick enough all while boasting on-ball skills that see defenders move for fortunes in the modern game. It's genuinely exciting to see come out of the academy.

The only 'problem' for Quansah is Klopp stepping down in the summer. Will he equally impress the next manager? Will the next manager want to bring in his own defender? There are several questions that hang over most players in the Liverpool squad but particularly the youngsters.

What's certain, though, is that Quansah couldn't have done more to earn himself a future at Anfield. We'll see what that future holds.