Lifting a trophy is the dream of any Liverpool captain. But Jarell Quansah will hope the ultimate prize is still to come.
Quansah will aim to follow in the footsteps of Phil Brazier, Stephen Darby, Jay Spearing and, two years ago, Paul Glatzel by raising the FA Youth Cup when the young Reds take on Aston Villa in the final this evening (kick-off 7.45pm, live on BT Sport).
The 18-year-old centre-back led by example when outstanding in the semi-final win at Ipswich Town earlier in the month.
And having only earlier this season been handed the armband by under-18s coach Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, Quansah admits he is still adjusting to the role.
“The captain is normally one of the influential players in the squad so for it to be me who everyone looks up to and maybe being that player to lift the trophy is surreal,” he says.
“I haven’t been a captain of many teams. I've been with these lads for a very long time, 12 or 13 years some of them, so it took me a while to come out of my shell and start speaking and being vocal on the pitch.
“Over the last two years I've been able to develop that skill and this season I've been able to get the captaincy and shown it.”
While coy on his football heritage – “My family is from Manchester, so you can take from that what you will!” he laughs – Warrington-born Quansah has been at Liverpool’s Academy since the age of five.
He will again be partnered at centre-back by Billy Koumetio, who has already featured in the Champions League for the first team along with Rhys and Neco Williams, who both won the FA Youth Cup two years ago.
Another Academy graduate, Nat Phillips, has become a key figure for the senior side this season, and Quansah says: “It just gives hope and Jurgen Klopp looks to give chances to the younger players. He's not afraid to, and if you are good enough you are old enough.
“Playing next to Billy – you've seen how good he is – he's a big guy so you have so much security and safety.
“But Liverpool want to be the best in the world so I'm not just competing against Rhys and Nat, I'm competing against the best centre-halves in the world.”
Quansah adds: “This season I've trained a couple of times with the first team. I played a good part in an in-house game and thought I did all right.
“The day after I trained with some of the bigger players in the squad, Thiago, Salah, Mane. That was amazing. Crazy.
“You look up to them for so long, you play them on FIFA and the next minute you are playing with them. It's hard to get your head around it. You know you're good enough for that level so you just try to do your best and enjoy it.”
Training regularly with the U18s brings its own challenges, with Liverpool boasting two of the level's most promising players in Mateusz Musialowski and James Balagizi.
“Mateusz is so skilled with the ball at his feet, trying to get it off him is very tough and he's obviously is one of the best dribblers I've come up against,” says Quansah. “Balagizi, everyone knows how strong and powerful he is.
“I can't think of anyone who is better than Mateusz (at U18 level) so I have full confidence Mateusz and Balagizi are some of the best players in the country this point.”
Quansah’s only previous visit to Villa Park was to watch a Liverpool side comprised of Academy players in a League Cup quarter-final almost 18 months ago.
Around 4,750 home fans will be in attendance this evening with the Reds’ following limited to family members of the squad.
And Quansah adds: “Every football player wants to be in a final and win a trophy at the end of the season because you have worked so hard. It would definitely be a dream come true.
“Everyone is excited and ready. We've come this far and we're not just here to take part, we want to get a trophy and we want to win.”
