Liverpool might have cursed the entire career of \u00a335m Leverkusen signing Jarell Quansah if their history with buy-back clauses is anything to go by.<\/p>\n
Quansah is about to shame Arsenal by equalling their record sale<\/strong><\/a> when he moves to Leverkusen and passes both Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong in the revolving door at Anfield.<\/p>\n Liverpool<\/strong><\/a> have even managed to negotiate a buy-back clause of unknown worth into the deal, ensuring that if Erik ten Hag turns Quansah into a defensive machine then it will ultimately benefit the Reds.<\/p>\n But that often does not play out as they or the player in question might hope.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Rhian Brewster After complaining of an \u2018illegal approach\u2019 from Borussia Monchengladbach<\/strong><\/a> in their U17 world champion in summer 2018, Liverpool managed to persuade Brewster that a pathway existed to Jurgen Klopp\u2019s first team despite the obvious Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino-shaped obstacles.<\/p>\n A five-year contract marked the beginning of the forward\u2019s next development phase, with a gradual increase of senior opportunities expected to precede a full breakthrough as an established starter.<\/p>\n \u201cI just wanted the opportunity to make it at Liverpool,\u201d Brewster said after rejecting intense interest to sign that lucrative Anfield deal. \u201cOf course you have to look elsewhere sometimes and maybe somewhere else is a better place for you.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Liverpool is the place for me. I can\u2019t wait to get started and get back fit.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n That was the battle which ultimately undermined any hope Brewster had of being given meaningful chances to impress, as his recovery from ankle and knee issues coincided with Liverpool\u2019s remarkable rise beyond a point he could realistically force his way in.<\/p>\n He\u00a0made the 2019 Champions League final bench before his debut, but a League Cup third-round start against MK Dons that September was an unavoidable and sub-optimal signal of his future prospects.<\/p>\n A productive Swansea loan served only to increase his value rather than his Liverpool hopes. Ten clubs including Aston Villa and Newcastle lined up<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0but it was Sheffield United who won the race, perhaps because of their willingness to include both a 15% sell-on clause and \u00a340m buy-back option.<\/p>\n Not that either were necessary. The second five-year contract of 25-year-old Brewster\u2019s career expires this summer with the forward having scored nine times in 119 appearances for the Blades, including 40 goalless games in the Premier League.<\/p>\n The winner in a Steel City derby did make up for a fair amount of that disappointment, but Liverpool selling him stopped feeling like a mistake long ago<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Jordon Ibe \u201cWe put it in the contract that, within the first three seasons, there was a buy-back clause,\u201d said Raheem Sterling\u2019s superior<\/strong><\/a> of the move which took him from Anfield to Bournemouth in summer 2016.<\/p>\n \u201cI went thinking I needed more time on the pitch, because he was bringing Sadio Mane and then the following season he brought in Mo Salah.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Ibe had made an impression in his first full season at Liverpool, first under Brendan Rodgers then as one of the many who immediately stepped up under Klopp. But \u00a315m was difficult to turn down for a squad option at the time.<\/p>\n He paved a path from Liverpool to Bournemouth which would become absurdly busy and profitable for the Reds, who covered themselves in the event those who chose to take it came good.<\/p>\n Klopp confirmed that \u201cwe will watch them\u201d and \u201cdecide\u201d whether the \u00a319m pair had done enough to earn a return; both were released by 2020 after struggling to make an impact on the south coast.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Dominic Solanke The Reds did increase the \u00a319m fee they initially received for Solanke in January 2019 when his \u00a365m move to Spurs in summer 2024 triggered a further sell-on clause payment of around \u00a39m<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n But their buy-back option on the forward had expired some time prior, not that Liverpool ever showed a particular interest in bringing about the England international\u2019s return at any point since he left.<\/p>\n Aside from a couple of excellent Championship seasons, it seemed as though Bournemouth had been fleeced yet again by their favourite vendors until his explosion of form in 2023\/24.<\/p>\n Spurs faced little opposition to make him their record signing, with neither Liverpool nor Solanke particularly enamoured by the idea of a reunion.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Sergi Canos<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cAfter Christmas I took the decision I didn\u2019t want to sign a new contract with Liverpool. They offered me five years more but I didn\u2019t want to. I didn\u2019t want to be one more; I wanted to be important and I didn\u2019t want to go on loan again.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Canos went on to explain that he turned down the offer from Liverpool as it would have required him to \u201cdepend\u201d on \u201cthem making decisions for me\u201d in terms of his career.<\/p>\n A belated debut in the final game of the 2015\/16 Premier League season only reinforced the winger\u2019s desire to leave, as a nine-minute cameo at West Brom in a significantly weakened side due to Europa League final preparations might.<\/p>\n Norwich, relegated from the top flight that campaign and putting into motion the yo-yo\u2019s inevitable next rise, had seen enough of Canos on a bright Brentford loan to part with \u00a32.5m, potentially rising to \u00a34.5m.<\/p>\n Built into that deal was indeed a buy-back clause but neither that nor the add-ons were activated before Canos joined Brentford in January 2017. By the time he became their first Premier League goalscorer ever in August 2021 he was long gone from the Liverpool radar.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Rafa Camacho While the Portuguese is more of a forward, his only two appearances for Liverpool came at right-back: a start in an FA Cup third-round defeat to Wolves; and a substitute cameo featuring what Klopp called \u201cthe most important challenge of his life\u201d<\/strong><\/a>, both in January 2019.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>There might never have been more compelling proof of the existence of the Liverpool tax.<\/p>\n\n
<\/strong>Before Brewster came Ibe and an eerily similar situation with no difference in the outcome.<\/p>\n\n
<\/strong>While Solanke was an undoubted success for Bournemouth, the majority of his 28 Premier League goals for the club came after Liverpool had a transfer advantage to exercise over any competitors for his signature.<\/p>\n\n
<\/strong>If the general theme is of young talents leaving Liverpool only to learn that while the grass is greener, it\u2019s either considerably further down the ladder or not available for them to play on, then Camacho fits it perfectly.<\/p>\n