Jarell Quansah has dismissed speculation linking him with Arsenal and Chelsea, insisting he remains 'levelheaded' and 'focussed' on a successful season with Bayer Leverkusen. The defender, who joined the Bundesliga club from Liverpool in a £30million move in July 2025, is in his second season in German football.
Quansah's Leverkusen form and transfer interest
The 23-year-old, who helped Liverpool win the Premier League title, has made 49 appearances in all competitions for Leverkusen and has become a regular in Thomas Tuchel's England squad. His versatility, playing both centre-back and right-back, has been valuable, and he has started all but one of the club's top-flight matches this season under head coach Carles Martinez Novell.
Summer speculation about a departure from BayArena has resurfaced in German media this month. According to Bild, the 'race is on' for Quansah's signature, with Arsenal monitoring the situation after Leverkusen rejected a €65m (£55.5m) offer from the Gunners last month. Chelsea and Real Madrid have also made initial enquiries about his availability, while Liverpool hold an option to buy him back for €70million (£67.5m) in June 2027.
Quansah's response to the rumours
Ahead of Leverkusen's Champions League match against OFI Crete, Quansah was asked if the rumours provide extra motivation. He replied: 'I only have to focus on playing the season, playing as many games as I can and trying to improve. That's all I can do.'
'If I'm in the conversation then that's for another day but we've got a massively important game and it's another step to becoming a better player. That's the way I'm looking at it at the moment. You can't get too ahead of yourself because anything could be around the corner. I'm just trying to stay levelheaded and keep pushing.'
Leverkusen's form and Quansah's role
Leverkusen enter the clash having won their last five matches, including a 4-0 victory over Lech in their opening Champions League contest. 'We've got so much momentum going into the game,' Quansah said. 'We're obviously in a good place, we're attacking really well, we're defending a lot better now and there are a lot of positives we can take. But it's a tough away game and we need to be at our very best in every game to be able to take the three points and keep progressing in the tournament.'
Quansah has played much of the season at right-back, with Facundo Medina and Edmond Tapsoba as the preferred centre-half pairing. Asked if right-back is a 'good option', he said: 'Of course it's a good option for me. I do joke about it a little bit but I know I'm capable of playing there, I know I can affect the game going forward. Maybe a few years ago I was pigeonholed into being a centre-back because that's all I'd ever known but the last couple of years have opened my eyes a bit to knowing what I'm capable of. I'm still learning little bits about the role, how I can improve, and it's only going to make me a better footballer so I have to keep progressing. I'm happy as long as I'm playing.'
