Arne Slot claims Jarell Quansah is finally back to his best for

Quansah began the season as Virgil van Dijk’s preferred centre-half partner, ahead of Ibrahima Konate. Quansah, 22, impressed in his breakthrough campaign last season under and finished as a regular starter after Konate paid the price for ’s derby defeat at Goodison Park in April.

However Slot hooked the England Under-21 international at the interval after a poor first half at Ipswich on the opening day. He nosedived and became a periphery figure under Slot, only starting two games and featuring mainly in the Carabao Cup.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

His career went backwards and the low point came in the defeat at Plymouth. But Joe Gomez’s hamstring injury means he is the first centre-half off the bench and he seized his chance when Slot brought him on for Konate against because he was worried the France centre-half might receive a second yellow card.

On an afternoon where so many Liverpool stars were off colour, he stood up and his most-telling moment came in the dying minutes when he cut out Tommy Doyle’s cross and saved a certain equaliser. That maintained Liverpool’s seven-point lead in the title race and Slot said: “Everybody has seen recently already that he did really well and I see in training sessions that he’s back to being the same Jarell in pre-season.

“I think he had a bit of a hard time after being taken off at Ipswich and the first two or three games after he came in, he had a bit of a struggle. But he’s showing now what he’s shown in the last two to three months on the training pitch, but when he comes in, he’s back to his old level and you can see how important he is.”

Konate was praised on Match of the Day 2 and former Wales and Swansea defender Ashley Williams said his block was as good as a goal. “He finds himself in a difficult position because his full-back Robertson has played [Marshall] Munetsi onside,” he said.

“But that’s the type of defending you don’t see that much anymore, being out of position and really having to sprint and make a tackle. He goes with the opposite leg and that’s as a good as a goal for me.”

Micah Richards says Quansah proved his worth to Liverpool in that defining moment. “When you’re going for the Premier League it’s all about moments,” he said.

“He’s had an impact. It was difficult, he started the season, he got subbed at half-time, Slot said he wasn’t aggressive enough. But against Wolves, he showed how vital he can be to this team.”

and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our