Jarell Quansah has distanced himself from speculation linking him with the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea, insisting he remains ‘levelheaded’ and ‘focussed’ on seeing out a successful campaign with Bayer Leverkusen.

Quansah is enjoying his second season in German football with Leverkusen having joined the Bundesliga outfit in a £30million move from Liverpool in July 2025.

The 23-year-old, who helped Liverpool win the Premier League title, has gone on to make 49 appearances in all competitions for Leverkusen while establishing himself as a regular in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad.

Comfortable playing at both centre-back and right-back, Quansah’s versatility has proven a valuable asset for Leverkusen and he has started all but one of the club’s top-flight matches this season under new head coach Carles Martinez Novell.

However, there was incessant speculation throughout the summer that Quansah could be on his way out of BayArena – and rumours over the defender’s future have surfaced again in the German media this month.

According to a recent report from Bild, the ‘race is on’ for Quansah’s signature, with Arsenal still keeping close tabs on the situation after Leverkusen rejected a €65m (£55.5m) offer from the Gunners to capture the England international last month.

The English champions weren’t the only team named as possible suitors, though, with Chelsea and Real Madrid also making initial enquiries to gauge Quansah’s potential availability.

Liverpool, meanwhile, have the option to buy Quansah back from Leverkusen for a fee of €70million (£67.5m) in June 2027.

Quansah was asked if such rumours gave him extra ‘motivation’ to perform ahead of Leverkusen’s Champions League meeting with OFI Crete, to which 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.

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‘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 enter this evening’s clash in outstanding form having won their last five matches in all competitions, including a thumping 4-0 victory over Lech in their opening Champions League contest.

‘We’ve got so much momentum going into the game,’ Quansah said when asked about the mood within the camp.

‘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 this season at right-back, with Facundo Medina and Edmond Tapsoba nailing down their spots as Leverkusen’s favoured centre-half pairing under Martinez Novell.

Asked if right-back was a ‘good option’ or whether he would ideally prefer to be playing at centre-back, Quansah responded: ‘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.’