Manchester City missed the chance to sign a young player who is now ripping it up for Liverpool.
After years of careful planning, Manchester City have one of the best football academies in the world, allowing them to produce so much talent.
Phil Foden is the highlight of the system but Rico Lewis and Oscar Bobb are now regulars in Pep Guardiola’s side while Cole Palmer has been fantastic since joining Chelsea in the summer.
However, one young player who passed the club by is Jarell Quansah.
The promising centre-back has exploded onto the scene this season by stepping up to the plate to help Jurgen Klopp’s injury-ravaged team.
Quansah has only 23 senior appearances for Liverpool but is playing with a composure well beyond his tender experience.
City learned first-hand how good the 21-year-old already is when he helped keep Erling Haaland at bay in the 1-1 draw on Sunday.
However, it was too little too late as they failed to sign Quansah when he was on trial at the club.
Jarell Quansah says he went on trial at Man City
Speaking to The Athletic, Quansah said: “I went around different places to see what was out there.
“I did City, (Manchester) United, Wigan, Bolton… all of them.
“Back then, I was just playing and enjoying what I was doing. Any time I could play football, I was happy.
“My parents thought having more options would be better.
“I just remember Liverpool offering the best training.
“That was where I enjoyed my football the most and that’s why I stayed.”
Plenty more talent to come
You can’t catch them all and at least City can take solace in the fact they weren’t the only team to allow Quansah to slip through their fingers.
They can also rest assured that there will be plenty more talent to come down the pipeline as the club continues to develop superstars.
Besides, Quansah likely wouldn’t be shining in the Premier League now if he was at City.
The Blues have several promising centre-backs – Finley Burns, Jadel Katongo, Callum Doyle and Taylor Harwood-Bellis, to name a few – but none can get in the first team.
That’s understandable with the quality ahead of them. It will take a special talent to dislodge John Stone, Ruben Dias, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake.
