Jarell Quansah joins Leverkusen from Liverpool after winning Under-21 Euro with England
Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday announced that it has replaced former captain Jonathan Tah with Jarell Quansah from Liverpool in a club-record signing for a defender.
The 22-year-old Quansah signed a contract through June 2030 and will wear Tah’s former No. 4 shirt, the Bundesliga club said Wednesday.
Quansah won the Under-21 European Championship with England last week. But he was unable to establish himself as a regular starter at Liverpool ahead of Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté.
The reported fee of more than 30 million euros ($35.3 million) rising to 40 million ($47 million) with bonuses corresponds roughly with what Liverpool agreed to pay Leverkusen for Netherlands right back Jeremie Frimpong in May.
According to reports, Liverpool secured a buy-back option for the English defender for more than 60 million euros ($70.6 million) after he has spent two seasons at Leverkusen.
Leverkusen also sold star player Florian Wirtz to Liverpool last month for a Bundesliga-record fee.
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Tah switched to league rival Bayern Munich once the season concluded after declining to extend his contract. He had spent a decade at Leverkusen and was a key part of the team which won the Bundesliga and German Cup unbeaten in 2023-24.
“One of the most promising English central defenders. He’s fast, agile, a good footballer,” Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes said of Quansah.
“He has already made an impressive impact in a Liverpool defense dominated by world-class players. With Jarell, our defense gains significant dynamism, pace and toughness in tackling, and he’s another very important building block.”
Rolfes is overseeing huge changes at Leverkusen following coach Xabi Alonso’s departure for Real Madrid.
Wirtz, Tah and Frimpong have all left, and Rolfes has been signing promising young players to make up for its departures.
