Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has been putting his players through their paces ahead of the Reds’ return to Premier League action.
And the Liverpool manager, speaking to Sky Sports reporter Vinny O’Connor, referred to Reds talent Jarell Quansah as “Virgil 2.0, reloaded”.
Quansah has come a long way over the past few months. He made his Liverpool debut away at Newcastle at the start of the season and has made nine senior appearances to date.
The Anfield academy ace has risen through the Reds ranks over the past 15 years, going on to shine for the Under-21s before making his debut this term.
Quansah also impressed on loan at Bristol Rovers last season and won the Under-19 European championship with England in 2021. He is now with the nation’s Under-21s.
Klopp clearly rates the 20-year-old highly. In a video shared by O’Connor on X, Klopp can be heard referring to Quansah as the next Van Dijk. Specifically “Virgil 2.0, reloaded”.
Liverpool have an ‘extremely promising’ talent in Jarell Quansah
Earlier this month, the Liverpool boss admitted that he would’ve been surprised by Quansah’s quality if you had asked him about the player in pre-season.
“If you would have asked me pre-season (if) he would be that good I would have been surprised,” he said at his pre-match presser, via The Independent.
“But since then I saw him every day and I am not surprised any more.
“It’s great to have a boy from our own academy with that potential and quality. We will see where he ends up but it is extremely promising.
“There was talk about him going on loan and we said ‘no’, that was obviously a very good decision.”
For a world-class manager like Klopp to compare one of his young players to one of the best defenders in the world is quite the compliment.
Quansah will no doubt be buzzing and he’ll continue working hard to one day reach the same level as the Liverpool and Netherlands powerhouse.