Manchester United Join Arsenal in Race for Jarell Quansah

Jarell Quansah’s rise was supposed to end with him marshalling Liverpool’s back line for the next decade. Instead, a year after Anfield cashed in, two of their fiercest rivals are jostling to make him their defensive cornerstone.

According to fresh reports, Manchester United have joined Arsenal in active talks to sign the Bayer Leverkusen centre-back, with both Premier League giants accelerating their push for the England international.

From Liverpool hope to Leverkusen pillar

Quansah broke through at Liverpool amid big expectations, tipped as a long-term successor to Virgil van Dijk. Liverpool, though, chose to sell last summer, banking around £30m as Bayer Leverkusen moved decisively.

The 23-year-old did exactly what he went to Germany to do. He nailed down a place, impressed in the Bundesliga and did enough to earn a call-up to Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for the World Cup. One season, and his value – and profile – have exploded.

Liverpool’s current shortage at centre-back inevitably dragged his name back into the conversation. The Merseyside club held a €70m (£60m) buy-back clause for this summer, but that has now expired, and reports earlier in the window indicated they had no intention of triggering it anyway. With no clauses in play for other clubs, the market around Quansah has opened up.

Arsenal move first – and early

Arsenal sensed the opportunity. On Friday morning it emerged that the North London club had made contact over a deal, viewing Quansah as an alternative to Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa.

Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano reported on X that Arsenal had spoken with Quansah’s camp this week, describing the discussions as “initial talks” and stressing that Leverkusen intend to keep the defender this season. He also underlined the key detail for the summer: Liverpool’s buy-back has lapsed, and there are no other clauses to complicate a sale.

Arsenal’s interest fits the profile. Mikel Arteta wants another ball-playing centre-back who can dominate in the air and build from deep. Quansah ticks all of those boxes and is still young enough to grow with a squad built to challenge on multiple fronts.

United arrive at the table

Now Manchester United have arrived, and not quietly. Football Transfers report that United are in “active talks” over Quansah and have “stepped up their move” as they look to reshape a back line that has creaked for too long.

For the moment, Arsenal are thought to be ahead in the race. That advantage may not last.

The same report notes that Arsenal hold an edge due to their strong relationship with Leverkusen, a connection built over recent dealings between the clubs. Yet Leverkusen are deeply reluctant to part with one of their standout performers and are expected to demand a fee far beyond the €35m they initially paid.

Early indications point to a significant gap between Leverkusen’s valuation and what Arsenal are prepared to offer. That gap could be where United slip through.

If Arsenal hesitate, United have both the need and the platform to go harder. A versatile, composed defender in his early 20s, already an England international, fits the profile of the rebuild at Old Trafford as much as it does the project at the Emirates.

‘He should have been Van Dijk’s successor’

For Liverpool, this pursuit by their rivals underlines what they have allowed to leave. Ronan Murphy, billed as a Bundesliga expert, told Football Transfers that Quansah was the obvious answer to Liverpool’s defensive issues.

“The answer to Liverpool’s centre-back problems should have been Jarell Quansah,” Murphy said. “The England international should have been Virgil van Dijk’s successor at Anfield, but neither player nor club could wait around for that to happen.”

Murphy highlighted how Quansah’s decision to join Leverkusen in 2025 was driven by a need for first-team football and a desire to prove himself “at the highest level” – something he has managed emphatically in the past 12 months.

“So it is no surprise that he is being linked with a move back to the Premier League just a year after leaving for €35m,” Murphy added, “but what is surprising is that it is not a return to Anfield that is on the cards.”

Instead, the calm, technically polished defender is being lined up by Arsenal, who, Murphy argues, would “rightly value his ball-playing ability as well as his presence in the air for set pieces and general defending.”

Quansah set out his ambition clearly back in 2024, stating that he wants to become the best defender in Europe. Murphy believes that ceiling is hard to reach if he stays at Leverkusen. Arsenal under Arteta, he suggests, could be the ideal platform to chase that target.

United, of course, will disagree.

If Leverkusen open the door and the bidding begins, the question will not be whether Quansah returns to the Premier League, but which of Liverpool’s rivals he chooses to strengthen – and how big a price they are willing to pay for a defender Anfield once had in their hands.