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"From the outside, it appears crazy," Jarell Quansah remarks, as he looks back on his summer just gone, when dizzying change felt like a constant. "But it is one of them ... football is a crazy game."

A Brief Summary

Shortly after winning the European Under-21 Championship with the English national team at the conclusion of June, Quansah decided to leave Liverpool, to join Bayer Leverkusen in a multi-million pound transfer.

The significant transfer sum brought high expectations as the young defender was tasked with settling in in a new country and at a club where the churn was dramatic. The new manager had taken over to replace the previous coach and a number of star performers were gone or going – including several high-profile names, key squad members, Jeremie Frimpong, Amine Adli, Granit Xhaka, established players and Jonathan Tah.

League Introduction

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on 23 August at home to Hoffenheim and the centre-half found the net after the opening minutes, albeit the goal was overshadowed by tragedy. All he could think about was Diogo Jota, who was killed in a car accident. Quansah executed his teammate's signature celebration as a tribute.

"To have a goal on your first Bundesliga match, in front of home fans, after five minutes, is certainly a whirlwind," Quansah states. "However, my dominant emotion was that it was a homage to Diogo."

Early Challenges

The player could have been forgiven for wondering what he had committed to at the German club. From the promising start in their first league game, they fell to a narrow loss and the following game on August 30th was just as bad. Ten Hag's team squandered 2-0 and 3-1 leads to draw 3-3 at 10-man Werder Bremen, the tying goal coming in added time. It was not Ten Hag's team for much longer. His dismissal came on 1 September.

Staying Focused

Quansah does not come across as the kind to worry. If calmness characterizes his playing style, it was on show during the interview he gave after being selected for England for the Wembley friendly against Wales and the qualifying match against Latvia.

Quansah has remained focused under the new Leverkusen manager, Kasper Hjulmand, and persisted in doing what he always intended to do at the team – compete. Hjulmand has brought stability. His squad have positive results in their domestic campaign along with ties in each of their Champions League ties. But there is a broader statistic that encourages Quansah, even bringing a measure of vindication. It is the fact that demonstrates he has been ever-present of the club's campaign.

National Team Attention

It is something that Thomas Tuchel has observed. The England head coach was a fan previously, including him when he announced his initial selection. After omitting him in the summer so that Quansah could concentrate on the youth tournament, he provided him with a last-minute inclusion in September when the experienced defender was compelled to pull out.

Still to win his international debut, Quansah must have done something right in practice sessions and within the squad environment because he was selected at the beginning in the manager's squad selection for the upcoming matches, essentially as a additional defensive option with the regular starter returning. The aspiration is a debut. It is another thing he would certainly handle with ease.

Career Choices

"At Leverkusen, the club were keen on signing me for a considerable time and that's not just from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah says. "Their interest existed before he got appointed. So understanding it was a sort of internal decision and things would remain consistent with whatever coach was to take over ... it was easy for me to make that decision.

"There were a lot of players departing and it's always tough when you see important figures leave. It has been tough to build the leadership groups but the outcomes we have had [under Hjulmand] demonstrate that we have developed a competitive team with quality players. It is going to take time to develop and we are still progressing. But if we are getting results and not losing that is a solid foundation to start."

Leaving Childhood Club

It had to have been a wrench for Quansah to leave his long-time club, his team since childhood, where he enjoyed so many memorable moments – such as the Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea in 2023‑24 when he came on as an extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also a part of last season's domestic championship success. Yet his view of most of that achievement was not the perspective he would have preferred. He was an non-playing reserve on 25 occasions in the league, his limited playing time comparing unfavourably with his statistics from 2023‑24 when he featured more regularly.

Professional Growth

"I consistently developed off top-level professionals around me at my former club and it's been incredibly beneficial for my professional development," he comments. "However, for a developing defender, you need games and I'm going to be needing hundreds of games to be at my desired level.

"I just wanted game time and when you are at a team like Liverpool, it's not promised because there are elite performers throughout the squad. I wanted an environment where they can have confidence that I might make mistakes at certain moments but they will look under that and recognize I can keep pushing and improving."

Foundation Building

Quansah remembers his temporary transfer to League One Bristol Rovers in the second-half of 2022-23 where he debuted at professional level – multiple matches, to be precise. There were "numerous wake-up calls", he says with a smile, beginning with his first game; a 5-1 defeat at their opponents.

"That was a true eye-opener," Quansah says. "It was a really valuable chapter in my development because I aimed to take the subsequent progression to regular senior competition. Each match I gained fresh insights. That's where I knew how crucial practical knowledge and playing games was. You could suggest it influenced my choice in the summer."