Virgil van Dijk admitted “the sky is the limit” for Jarell Quansah after Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Man City, and his post-match interview showed why.
Quansah made his biggest start yet for Liverpool as he kept his place in the side against Man City following injury to Ibrahima Konate in midweek.
It was a testament to Jurgen Klopp‘s faith in the 21-year-old that he did not revert to Joe Gomez as partner to Van Dijk, despite the lack of experience alongside Conor Bradley.
And Quansah once again vindicated the manager’s trust, rarely putting a foot wrong against arguably the best striker in the world in Erling Haaland.
Joining his centre-back partner for a post-match interview with Sky Sports, Van Dijk said “the sky is the limit” for Liverpool’s No. 78.
“It’s a nice story,” the captain said.
“I think for himself as well, when he came in for pre-season, coming back from loan, I don’t think he would have thought he’d be playing for the title.
“He is starting, he’s been important. Every challenge that was thrown his way, he dealt with outstandingly.
“The sky is the limit. He just has to stay humble and keep working hard, keep improving, because there will be a lot of bumps along the road as well.”
Quansah attracted headlines back in December when, reflecting on Joel Matip‘s season-ending injury, he perhaps spoke out of turn as he said “my idea was to try and get over him anyway.”
But even then, it highlighted the academy graduate’s confidence, and he showed why Van Dijk rates him so highly as he compared his debut on loan at Bristol Rovers last season to now.
“We lost 5-1. It’s a big difference. From where I was then, I’ve improved a lot,” Quansah said on defeat to Morecambe in January 2023.
“But for me, it’s just about improving still.
“[Man City] could have scored off some of the mistakes I made. I didn’t have the perfect game, but I’m striving to be good and to be like this man next to me.”
When pushed further on if he actually felt his performance could have been better, Quansah said: “Definitely. We didn’t win the game, didn’t keep a clean sheet.
“That’s the mentality you’ve got to have if you want to be a top defender, which obviously I’m aspiring to be.
“Having Virg next to me, shouting me through the game at times, it helps a lot. I can’t thank him enough.”
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