Arne Slot insists there is no issue with Jarell Quansah after substituting him at half-time vs. Ipswich, but has revealed a new doubt for the Liverpool centre-back.
The decision to bring Quansah off at half-time in Saturday’s Premier League opener at Ipswich caused controversy within the media – albeit not on Merseyside.
Slot’s call to send on Ibrahima Konate for the 21-year-old was questioned by the likes of Alan Shearer, Gary Neville and Gary Lineker, though it certainly helped Liverpool win the game.
Ahead of the visit of Brentford to Anfield on Sunday, the head coach was asked how Quansah had reacted and praised his response.
But Slot also revealed that the young centre-back is now a doubt for the weekend after picking up an injury in midweek.
“[He reacted] in the way you would expect the player to react,” Slot admitted.
“I spoke to him immediately after the game, spoke to him the day after on Sunday and at the end of that conversation he asked if he could train.
“Normally he should have done recovery, he wanted to train.
“Unfortunately I think it was Tuesday that he picked up a bit of an injury, so he couldn’t train on Wednesday. Let’s see if he can train today.
“But he reacted in a way every player should react.
“It was not about Jarell”
“I don’t think there was much in it, although maybe the language was the problem because what I said was he did not lose every duel, but he lost one or two important ones.
“One of them was just before half-time and from what’s been told to me it’s like I’ve said he lost every duel.
“He did not do, we as a team lost too many duels and he lost one or two as well.
“That’s also what I said to the team the day after, that it was not about Jarell, that we as a team didn’t do well.
“But in my opinion, the only threat at that moment from Ipswich was [Liam] Delap, and he won one or two important duels.
“I was trying to get that strength out of their team by bringing in Ibou.”
With Quansah now doubtful for the clash with Brentford, Konate is likely to come into the starting lineup against Ipswich, while Joe Gomez could take a place on the bench if the No. 78 is out.
It only highlights the balancing act already playing out with Slot’s squad, with Nat Phillips and 17-year-old Amara Nallo the next in line if any other injuries occur, following Sepp van den Berg‘s £25 million move to Brentford.
Gomez has been considering his options amid interest from the likes of Aston Villa, Fulham and Newcastle, with Slot not completely ruling out a move before next Friday’s deadline.
