A Year ago on Monday, Jarell Quansah played for Bristol Rovers in a 3-1 win over Forest Green in front of 4,788 punters at the New Lawn. That day, the young defender was marking journeyman striker Amadou Bakayoko.
On Sunday, Quansah played for Liverpool, a team chasing four trophies including all of the top prizes in English football, against Pep Guardiola’s Treble-winning, serial champions Manchester City. He marked, and dominated it must be said, the world’s best No 9 Erling Haaland.
No disrespect to Bakayoko, who has had to fight for his footballing career after being born in Sierra Leone and worked hard to be a professional footballer, but this comparison just underlines the seismic leaps Quansah has taken in the last 12 months.