Jarell Quansah 'couldn't believe' former Liverpool team-mate as 'difficult' admission made

Liverpool defender Jarell Quansah has opened up on the inspiration he takes from Joel Matip, Jordan Henderson and Virgil van Dijk

Jarell Quansah has explained how he is taking inspiration from Liverpool team-mates past and present as he pinpointed areas to improve his game. Quansah is currently on international duty with England as they continue their defence of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Slovakia.

The centre-back experienced a frustrating campaign with Liverpool under new head coach Arne Slot where he was limited to just 13 starts, only four of which were in the Premier League as the Reds cruised to the title.

Despite Liverpool planning on Quansah being in their squad next season, the 22-year-old continues to be linked with a move away with Bayer Leverkusen reportedly holding a strong interest.

But Quansah is instead concentrating on continuing to develop with one ex-Reds centre-back in particular setting the standard.

"We had Joel Matip at Liverpool," he said. "I couldn't believe how well he could step into midfield and keep the ball.

"It looks easy sometimes when you're stepping in and you're just going past players but knowing there's three or four players either side of you and trying to make the right pass is so difficult.

"It's definitely a skill I've not mastered, but seeing players like Joel do it and the way he did it with such success, I can only aspire to be that sort of player.”

Quansah also detailed how he is looking to improve his leadership qualities by following the example of two Liverpool captains.

“Jordan (Henderson) is very vocal, has very, very high standards on and off the pitch and he drives that constantly," he added.

"Then you've got Virgil (van Dijk), who again leads by example; a big presence in the changing room. Because of the type of player he is, you want to listen to him, you want to learn off him.

“I'm not going to be always the most vocal in the team. I might learn that skill but the way I'm trying to do it at the minute is how I set standards, how I train, how I keep my standards as high as I can really.”