Liverpool told they’ve got a ‘top-class’ youngster who could soon be worth more than £60m

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One of the most impressive things about Liverpool this season has been their growing number of academy graduates.

Although they were names likely already known to the majority of Liverpool fans, both Jarell Quansah and Conor Bradley have emerged as two genuine options for the first-team. Both look like being long-term members of the senior squad.

And while Bradley has taken the bulk of the praise over recent weeks, Quansah’s development has been equally impressive. The 21-year-old made his fourth Premier League start of the campaign on Saturday and according to Robbie Earle on NBC Sports, the centre-back is looking like the real deal.

“He’s starting to make a mark in the first-team when he plays,” says Earle. “He’s a young man who might save Liverpool 70, 80 millions dollars [£55 – £63m] if he continues to grow and learn and take his time and keep improving.

“He looks like he’s got all the things you’d want for a top-class centre-back. Good size, good pace, mobility, decent on the ball, bit of presence about him.

“He looks like a 26, 27-year-old who’s come in the team. The biggest compliment you can give him is that he doesn’t stand out at all as someone that you’re nursing through.”

Quansah saves Liverpool millions

There’s absolutely no question that Quansah has already saved Liverpool money in the transfer market. Without his impressive displays in pre-season, the Reds would have brought in another centre-back last summer.

Some fans would still prefer if Liverpool did that. With Joel Matip likely to have played his last game for the club, the Reds will be one option short next year.

However, it’s fair to say that Liverpool haven’t especially missed Matip since his injury. Without Quansah, they definitely would have.

The England U21 international has stepped in and played 18 times this season. Over that time he hasn’t looked out of place at all. It’s perhaps an overused analogy by now, but if Liverpool had spent £60m on a 21-year-old centre-back who’s playing as Quansah is, we’d all be raving about it.

Such is the way of modern football, a local lad coming through earns decidedly less praise. But Jarell shouldn’t be worried about that.

Links to new defenders have continued despite his growing reputation. However, the new manager will have Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez and Quansah to choose from. That looks like a good amount.

As a result, it may well be that the Reds will now be sorted at centre-back for at least another year. Van Dijk’s immediate future will play a part in that, but if a new one is brought in, it shouldn’t be to displace Quansah.

Just as Trent Alexander-Arnold and Curtis Jones are now worth tens of millions, so too is the young man from Warrington. The really scary thing is, he’s only going to get better.