Former Bristol Rovers loanee Jarell Quansah has been called up to the England Under-20 squad for the forthcoming World Cup in Argentina.
Quansah spent the second half of last season on loan with the Gas from Liverpool and, outside of missing three games through suspension, was a regular in the heart of the Rovers defence. The 20-year-old made 15 starts in League One and one substitute appearance in what was his first senior season having been a star in Liverpool’s Under-21 set-up.
Quansah has been named by head coach Ian Foster in his 21-strong squad as one of 16 members from the victorious England side that triumphed in the Under-19 Championship last summer.
England are in Group E of the tournament in South America, which was moved from its original host country of Indonesia following protests regarding Israel’s involvement, and kicks off on May 20. The Young Lions face Tunisia on May 22, followed by games against Iraq and Uruguay, with the top two and the four best third-placed teams advancing into the Round of 16.
Quansah is one of only two players in Foster’s squad who played in League One last season, alongside Peterborough United defender Ronnie Edwards who is preparing for their play-off semi-final against Sheffield Wednesday. Posh are set to keep Edwards for the duration of the play-off schedule should they reach the final on May 29, meaning Foster may need to call up a replacement defender.
Foster's squad also includes Chelsea trio Carney Chukwuemeka, Bashir Humphreys and Harvey Vale, with Rovers having made unsuccessful loan bids to sign the latter two in January, Arsenal's Brooke Norton-Cuffy and Tottenham attacking duo Dane Scarlett and Alfie Devine.
Quansah has now returned to Liverpool following his time at the Mem with Barton open to the prospect of re-loaning him should the situation arise. However, at the same time, the Rovers management are aware of the need for more experience, particularly in central defence, next season.
Quansah was parachuted into the Rovers team during a challenging run of form in which Bobby Thomas’ loan was terminated by Burnley and the defender redirected to Barnsley.
The centre-back impressed with his distribution and confidence at bringing the ball out from the back, with Barton wanting his defenders to be progressive in possession, but there were some obvious weaknesses, most notably in his set-piece and aerial defending.
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