Jarrell Quansah, a British-born defender of Ghanaian descent, has expressed his delight at making his Liverpool debut despite the difficult circumstances he was thrust into at St. James’ Park.
The defender replaced Joel Matip with 13 minutes of the Reds’ clash with Newcastle remaining before fellow substitute Darwin Nunez grabbed the headlines with a late brace to seal victory.
It wasn’t the ideal scenario for a youngster to make their first appearance as Liverpool found themselves a man light following Virgil van Dijk‘s sending off inside half an hour.
Jurgen Klopp displayed a great deal of trust to introduce the centre-back into such an environment, something which Quansah used as fuel to get himself through the challenge.
“[Klopp] just said that I’m ready for it and I felt ready, but as ready as you can be in this scenario,” Quansah told LFCTV.
“You don’t expect to make your debut away with 10 men at St. James’ Park 1-0 down, so it’s hard to put into words at this minute.”
The Reds were a goal behind when the defender came on, but an inspired turnaround saw Klopp’s side snatch a vital three points from the unlikeliest of situations.
Quansah described the occasion as the stuff of “dreams” to get his first outing and cited “adrenaline” as a key factor that helped him through the performance.
“I’m normally cool anyway but it’s always easier when something is sprung on you and you have got the adrenaline running through your veins,” continued the 20-year-old.
“It’s what dreams are made of, a cliché but it’s so true. I’m ready for whatever comes.”
Those sentiments were echoed on his Instagram after the game as he shared pictures from his debut with the caption: “Couldn’t have asked for a better Premier League debut. Hard to put into words the feelings and emotions. A day I’ve dreamed of from the very start. Time to kick on.”
With Ibrahima Konate currently out injured and Van Dijk suspended, Quansah will hope to there are more opportunities in the pipeline at the heart of the defence.
Aston Villa are up next for the Reds and Quansah will almost certainly be part of the matchday squad once again as we head back to Anfield.
