Jarell Quansah faces a battle getting back into Liverpool’s team (Image: Getty)
Liverpool star Jarell Quansah may find regular football under Arne Slot hard to come by after the Reds boss lavished praise on Ibrahima Konate. Quansah has not played a single minute of Premier League football since being replaced by Konate at half-time on the opening day of the season.
Slot criticised Quansah’s failure to win enough duels during the first half of Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Ipswich. The 21-year-old, who enjoyed a breakthrough campaign under Jurgen Klopp last term, struggled against the newly promoted side.
Konate has since excelled as the first-choice partner to Virgil van Dijk, keeping Quansah out of Slot’s preferred team. The Frenchman has even positively contributed in attack, providing an assist in last weekend’s 3-0 win over Bournemouth.
He also had a hand in both the other goals and has cemented his place in the Liverpool starting XI. Slot admitted he was ‘surprised’ to see Bournemouth adapt their game plan to press Konate instead of Van Dijk, proving that the former RB Leipzig man was heavily influential.
“I’m not sure if they (the opposition) see him as a weakness. What could be is they see Virgil as an unbelievable strength,” Slot said of Konate.
“So that makes it maybe for Ibou, not that he has a weakness, but maybe Virgil is even further ahead when it comes to bringing the ball out from the back.
“It was a surprise for us as well, because all the games they’d played up until now they were pressing the left centre-back with their No. 10 and this was the first time they went to the right. For us it was a real good decision because it led to three goals.”
Ibrahima Konate has been influential since replacing Jarell Quansah at Liverpool (Image: Getty)
Those comments could spell bad news for Quansah, though, with Konate clearly the favourite to remain at the heart of Liverpool’s defence. The academy graduate has remained an unused substitute in each of the four Premier League matches since his withdrawal against Ipswich.
Quansah was excellent under Klopp and provided competition to the likes of Konate and Joe Gomez. With both stars struggling to remain consistently fit, having Quansah available was pivotal for Slot’s predecessor.
But the England U21 international may now need to show signs of improvement to get back into the Liverpool team. Persuading Slot that he can compete in duels will be key to Quansah winning his place back from Konate.
Source: https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1953171/arne-slot-liverpool-premier-league