Club rejected £55.5m Arsenal bid for England World Cup defender

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Arsenal went as high as £55.5 million for Jarell Quansah in the last transfer window, only to be turned away by Bayer Leverkusen.

That is according to a report from Football365, which claims the Gunners submitted the bid for the centre-back before pivoting elsewhere in the market.

The deal never materialised, and Arsenal instead completed a move for Ezri Konsa from Aston Villa — an older, more Premier League-seasoned option who has settled into the backline since arriving.

Why Arsenal wanted Quansah

Quansah left Liverpool for Leverkusen and has since become one of the most highly regarded young defenders in Europe. His development in the Bundesliga was rewarded with a place in Thomas Tuchel's England squad for the 2026 World Cup, with the centre-back selected ahead of a number of other well-rated candidates.

That call-up is the clearest marker of where he now sits in the pecking order among English defenders operating abroad. He is still only in the early part of his senior career, which is precisely the profile Arsenal have leaned towards in recent recruitment cycles.

The report states Arsenal had admired Quansah for some time and felt the moment was right to bring him back to England. Konsa's arrival is not thought to have closed the door on that interest.

Chelsea and a Liverpool buy-back clause

Arsenal are not alone. Chelsea have also been linked with Quansah in recent days, meaning the defender could have more than one Premier League route open to him if he decides his time in Germany is up.

There is a further complication. Liverpool retain a buy-back clause from the original sale, which they can activate should they decide bringing him back to Anfield makes sense. That gives the Reds a mechanism to re-enter the picture at a moment of their choosing, regardless of what other clubs are willing to pay.

For a player who left Merseyside looking for regular football, the possibility of a return — or a first move to a direct rival — makes his situation one of the more layered defensive sagas on the horizon.

Where this leaves Arsenal

Konsa has performed solidly since his switch from Villa Park and brings a volume of Premier League minutes that Quansah simply does not have yet. The two profiles are different: one is a proven top-flight operator, the other a long-term project with international pedigree already attached.

The £55.5m figure gives a sense of how Leverkusen value their man, and it is worth noting the German side rejected it outright rather than negotiating. Any renewed approach would likely have to start from a higher base, with the buy-back clause looming over any negotiation.

Quansah, for his part, remains focused on his football at Leverkusen. With Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool all holding varying degrees of interest, his next move looks set to be one of the defining defensive transfers of the coming windows.