Liverpool’s Jarell Quansah insists he has achieved nothing yet because he is not classed as one of the world’s greats.
The defender has made his Anfield breakthrough this season and earned the faith of boss Jurgen Klopp.
The manager said this month he was surprised about his rapid rise, with Liverpool having considered sending Quansah out on loan again after he spent the second half of last season with Bristol Rovers in League One.
But the England Under-21 international, who made his Young Lions debut last month, has now made nine appearances for the Reds this season.
However, it is not enough for the ambitious 20-year-old, who wants to make a lasting mark on the game.
He said: “No (his season has not exceeded expectations), because no-one has said ‘Jarell Quansah is one of the best players in the world’ yet.
“No-one’s said ‘he’s a top centre-back’. No-one’s said ‘he’s all this’, so until I’m regarded as at least one of the best players in the Premier League, then there is no reason for me to sit on what I’ve got and go ‘Oh yeah, I’ve played nine games for Liverpool’. That’s never been the end goal.
“I’ve always just wanted to be a winner. I’ve hated losing since I was young. I used to cry when I lost. When I lose, it still ruins my weekend and stuff like that.
“There is no point in setting goals that you think you could reach. You might as well just set a goal that maybe looks out of reach but you never know what you can get to.
“Surprised could be deemed an interesting word but I think he (Klopp) means I wasn’t expected to be there yet.
“I don’t think it was ‘It’s a surprise, I’ve trained with him before and he’s not a good player’. It was about how soon it’s come and how I’ve dealt with the adversity I have been thrown into.
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“It’s not expected from being on loan at Bristol Rovers to going straight into the first team, and to do as well as I did. That’s where the surprise came from.”
Quansah made his debut in Liverpool’s late 2-1 win at Newcastle in August, coming on as a substitute for the injured Joel Matip after Virgil Van Dijk was sent off.
He also had a goal disallowed in the Reds’ 3-2 Europa League defeat in Toulouse last week, while Harvey Elliott, Curtis Jones and Trent Alexander-Arnold have all offered words of wisdom.
He said: “They just say enjoy it. It sounds so simple and cliche but it is easy for young centre-halves to not play their game, play safe and not do what they do at other levels just because it is a step up.
“Them saying that relaxes you a bit, so when I get told to enjoy it I can be free and just play. I don’t have to worry about making mistakes because they’re going to happen.
“I can’t remember the last player who had a perfect career and never made a mistake, that is going to happen and that is the way you learn best so just enjoy myself and do the best I can.”
Now, Quansah is preparing to travel to Serbia on Friday for Saturday’s Euro 2025 qualifier in Backa Topola, before returning to face Northern Ireland at Goodison Park on Tuesday in Group F.
Lee Carsley’s side are second in the group following last month’s late 3-2 defeat to Ukraine, having smashed Serbia 9-1 at the City Ground.
The loss to Ukraine in Poland, after levelling at 2-2 having been 2-0 down, was just England’s third in qualifying since 2011 but Quansah is happy to learn the lessons.
He said: “We didn’t lock the game down as the way we should have and their goal was a sucker punch.
“Things are definitely going to be different (in Serbia), it’s always tough going away from home as we found out against Ukraine.”
Maresca: Chelsea 'not ready' to compete for trophies with Man City and Arsenal
Enzo Maresca says that Chelsea "are not ready" to compete for major trophies against Manchester City and Arsenal this season.
The Blues have made a strong start to life under Maresca, losing just two of their 10 matches so far.
They are currently on a five-match winning run in all competitions, most recently seeing off Gent 4-2 in their Conference League opener on Thursday.
So far, Chelsea have scored 27 goals under the Italian, with 15 of those coming in the league, outperforming their 12.2 expected goals (xG), and only failed to score in their opening Premier League match against City.
However, Maresca has insisted people should not get carried away by Chelsea's recent form, playing down their chances of lifting any silverware this campaign.
"I really don't think we can compete with City or Arsenal," Maresca said.
"I really don't think that, because we are not ready. The reason is that City has worked with the same manager for nine years and Arsenal for five years. If you want to compete for big things, you need that time.
"After Arsenal beat PSG [in the Champions League] they asked Luis Enrique, and he said the same thing, that Arsenal have had the same manager for five years and [PSG] only a year and a half.
"Imagine us, only three months… so it's a huge difference. So, I am really convinced we cannot compete with those clubs."
Before Maresca's appointment, Mauricio Pochettino only spent a season at Stamford Bridge, while Graham Potter before him was only in the position for just under seven months.
After another busy transfer window for Chelsea saw them bring in 13 players, Maresca has urged for patience as they continue to find their footing in the early stages of his tenure.
"The target is to improve and slowly, slowly to get closer to those clubs but at the moment we are not ready for that," he added.
“There is no timeframe because you can continue to improve and add solutions to things always.”
Chelsea face Nottingham Forest at home on Sunday in their final match before the international break.
Maresca: Chelsea 'not ready' to complete for trophies with Man City and Arsenal
Enzo Maresca says that Chelsea "are not ready" to compete for major trophies against Manchester City and Arsenal this season.
The Blues have made a strong start to life under Maresca, losing just two of their 10 matches so far.
They are currently on a five-match winning run in all competitions, most recently seeing off Gent 4-2 in their Conference League opener on Thursday.
So far, Chelsea have scored 27 goals under the Italian, with 15 of those coming in the league, outperforming their 12.2 expected goals (xG), and only failed to score in their opening Premier League match against City.
However, Maresca has insisted people should not get carried away by Chelsea's recent form, playing down their chances of lifting any silverware this campaign.
"I really don't think we can compete with City or Arsenal," Maresca said.
"I really don't think that, because we are not ready. The reason is that City has worked with the same manager for nine years and Arsenal for five years. If you want to compete for big things, you need that time.
"After Arsenal beat PSG [in the Champions League] they asked Luis Enrique, and he said the same thing, that Arsenal have had the same manager for five years and [PSG] only a year and a half.
"Imagine us, only three months… so it's a huge difference. So, I am really convinced we cannot compete with those clubs."
Before Maresca's appointment, Mauricio Pochettino only spent a season at Stamford Bridge, while Graham Potter before him was only in the position for just under seven months.
After another busy transfer window for Chelsea saw them bring in 13 players, Maresca has urged for patience as they continue to find their footing in the early stages of his tenure.
"The target is to improve and slowly, slowly to get closer to those clubs but at the moment we are not ready for that," he added.
“There is no timeframe because you can continue to improve and add solutions to things always.”
Chelsea face Nottingham Forest at home on Sunday in their final match before the international break.
Ten Hag's future 'not my call', says Man Utd co-owner Ratcliffe
Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe says he does not hold power over the future of boss Erik ten Hag, amid the Red Devils' woeful start to the season.
United have taken just seven points from their first six Premier League matches, only beating Fulham and Southampton while suffering back-to-back 3-0 home defeats versus Liverpool and Tottenham.
That is their joint-worst return through six games of any season in the competition, having made identical starts under David Moyes in 2013-14 and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2020-21.
In the Europa League, meanwhile, United were pegged back in a 1-1 draw at home to Feyenoord on matchday one then squandered a 2-0 lead in Thursday's 3-3 draw at Porto.
Those results have led to fierce criticism coming Ten Hag's way, but Ratcliffe says United's new football hierarchy will make any decisions regarding the Dutchman's future.
Asked if he retained faith in Ten Hag, who signed a new contract in pre-season, Ratcliffe told BBC Sport: "I don't want to answer that question.
"I like Erik. I think he's a very good coach but at the end of the day it's not my call.
"It's the management team that's running Manchester United that have to decide how we best run the team in many different respects.
"But that team that's running Manchester United has only been together since June or July. They weren't there in January, February, March or April – [CEO] Omar [Berrada], [sporting director] Dan Ashworth – they only arrived in July.
"They've only been there… you can count it in weeks almost - they've not been there a long time, so they need to take stock and make some sensible decisions.
"Our objective is very clear – we want to take Manchester United back to where it should be, and it's not there yet, obviously – that's very clear."
United go to Aston Villa for their next Premier League game on Sunday, having won 40 Premier League games against the Villans, with only the Red Devils themselves beating an opponent more often in the competition's history (41 versus Everton).
Villa have won just one of their last 25 Premier League home games against United (eight draws, 16 losses), with that victory coming in Unai Emery's first game in charge of the club in November 2022 (3-1).
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