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"From the outside, it appears crazy," Jarell Quansah remarks, as he reflects on his recent summer, when dizzying change felt like a constant. "However, that's just how it goes ... football is a unpredictable game."

A Brief Summary

Shortly after claiming victory in the U21 European Championship with England at the conclusion of June, Quansah opted to depart from Liverpool, to go to Bayer Leverkusen in a £30m deal.

The significant transfer sum equalled big pressure as the 22-year-old was charged with settling in in a foreign land and at a club where the turnover was substantial. Erik ten Hag had stepped in to succeed Xabi Alonso and a number of key players were gone or going – including several high-profile names, key squad members, influential figures, prominent athletes, experienced professionals, established players and Jonathan Tah.

League Introduction

Quansah's first league appearance came on 23 August at home to their opponents and the central defender found the net after the opening minutes, albeit the goal was overshadowed by tragedy. All he could think about was his former Liverpool teammate, who was killed in a car accident. Quansah executed his teammate's signature celebration as a mark of respect.

"Scoring on your first Bundesliga match, at home, after five minutes, is certainly a whirlwind," Quansah says. "But my overwhelming feeling was that it was a homage to Diogo."

Initial Struggles

The player could have been forgiven for wondering what he had committed to at Leverkusen. After the encouraging beginning in their first league game, they succumbed to a 2-1 defeat and the following game on 30 August was equally disappointing. The squad squandered 2-0 and 3-1 leads to draw 3-3 at their reduced opponents, the tying goal coming in added time. It was not Ten Hag's team for very long. His dismissal came on September 1st.

Staying Focused

Quansah does not come across as the kind to worry. If composure defines his game, it was evident during the conversation he gave after joining England for the Wembley friendly against their rivals and the World Cup qualifier against Latvia.

Quansah has kept his head down under the current coach, the Danish tactician, and continued to do what he originally planned to do at the club – play. The new manager has brought stability. His squad have positive results in their domestic campaign along with draws in each of their European matches. But there is a more significant number that encourages Quansah, even bringing a measure of vindication. It is the one which shows he has been ever-present of the team's season.

National Team Attention

It is something that the England head coach has observed. The national team manager was a admirer previously, selecting Quansah when he announced his initial selection. After leaving him out in June so that Quansah could concentrate on the youth tournament, he provided him with a late call-up in the autumn when the experienced defender was compelled to pull out.

Still to win his international debut, Quansah must have done something right in training and within the squad environment because he was named at the beginning in the manager's 24‑man group for Wales and Latvia, effectively as a fifth centre-back with the regular starter returning. The aspiration is a first appearance. It is another thing he would certainly handle with ease.

Career Choices

"With my new club, the club were interested in me for a considerable time and that's not just from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah explains. "They were interested prior to his arrival. So knowing it was a sort of organizational choice and nothing would change with which manager was to take over ... it was easy for me to choose this path.

"We had a lot of players leaving and it's consistently challenging when you see important figures leave. It has been tough to establish new hierarchies but the outcomes we have had [under Hjulmand] show that we have developed a good squad with quality players. It is requiring patience to develop and we are still progressing. But if we are getting results and avoiding defeats that is a solid foundation to begin from."

Leaving Childhood Club

It had to have been a wrench for Quansah to leave Liverpool, his team since childhood, where he experienced so many memorable moments – such as the league cup triumph over Chelsea in 2023‑24 when he was introduced as an late replacement.

Quansah was also involved in last season's domestic championship success. Yet his view of much of that was not the one he would have preferred. He was an non-playing reserve on 25 occasions in the league, his four starts and nine appearances comparing unfavourably with his numbers from 2023‑24 when he started nine games.

Career Development

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

"My primary desire was regular playing opportunities and when you are at a top-level club, it's not promised because there are elite performers all over the pitch. I wanted an environment where they can have confidence that I might make mistakes at certain moments but they will look under that and see I can keep pushing and pushing."

Early Experience

Quansah recalls his temporary transfer to League One Bristol Rovers in the later part of that season where he made his first senior appearances – 16 of them, to be precise. There were "numerous wake-up calls", he notes with a grin, beginning with his debut; a 5-1 defeat at their opponents.

"That represented a genuine revelation," Quansah reflects. "It was a extremely important chapter in my development because I wanted to make the next step to playing first-team football. Each match I gained fresh insights. That's when I understood how crucial experience and playing games was. You could suggest it informed my decision in the summer."