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Liverpool sold Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen last summer.
The homegrown defender has since blossomed into a defensive linchpin for last season’s Bundesliga runners-up. But all is not well with Leverkusen currently.
They are sixth in the German top flight and in real danger of missing out on Champions League football. Last weekend they slumped to a 1-1 draw with relegation candidates Mainz - just one week on from losing 1-0 to Union Berlin.
It’s now clear Quansah, 23, is fed up with the situation - launching an astonishing attack on his own club following their latest league disappointment.
Quansah speaks out
"We didn't win and in my opinion, that's not enough," said Quansah according to Kicker.
"We've been saying this a lot lately: not enough energy, not enough intensity and it wasn't enough again today. I feel like we're playing against ourselves right now.
“We're not playing together enough and we have different ideas. We're playing without coordination. We need to regroup."
Jarell Quansah: Situation summary
Jarell Quansah’s switch to Bayer Leverkusen is Liverpool cashing in on a homegrown centre‑back without fully closing the door on him.
A Kirkby product, Quansah came through Liverpool’s academy, impressed on loan at Bristol Rovers and then broke into the first team in 2023‑24, ending that season as Virgil van Dijk’s most regular partner.
He showed he could live in a high line, handle big Premier League moments and push onto England’s radar, but under Arne Slot his role shrank, with fewer league starts as Liverpool’s defensive hierarchy settled around more senior options.
That context shaped the Leverkusen move in July 2025: a fee in the region of £30m for a pure‑profit asset, three prime Bundesliga seasons on offer for the player, and a structure that suits all parties.
Crucially, Liverpool inserted a buyback clause that only becomes active in 2027, set at a significantly higher fixed price.
In other words, Leverkusen get Quansah’s best development years now; Liverpool keep the right to decide later whether he grows into the sort of defender they cannot afford not to bring back.