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"From the outside, it seems crazy," Jarell Quansah says, as he reflects on his recent summer, 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 opted to depart from Liverpool, to join Bayer Leverkusen in a £30m deal.

The significant transfer sum brought big pressure as the 22-year-old was charged with finding his feet in a new country and at a club where the turnover was substantial. Erik ten Hag had stepped in to replace Xabi Alonso and a host of key players were departing or already left – including several high-profile names, Piero Hincapié, Jeremie Frimpong, Amine Adli, experienced professionals, established players and team leaders.

League Introduction

Quansah's first league appearance came on 23 August at their home ground to their opponents and the centre-half found the net after five minutes, though the achievement was undercut by tragedy. His primary thought was his former Liverpool teammate, who was killed in a car accident. Quansah performed Jota's gamer celebration as a mark of respect.

"Scoring on your Bundesliga debut, in front of home fans, after the opening moments, is definitely a whirlwind," Quansah says. "But my overwhelming feeling was that it was a tribute to Diogo."

Initial Struggles

The player could have been forgiven for wondering what he had committed to at the German club. After the encouraging beginning in their opening league fixture, they succumbed to a 2-1 defeat and the next match on August 30th was just as bad. The squad 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 no longer his responsibility for very long. His dismissal came on 1 September.

Staying Focused

Quansah doesn't appear to be 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 World Cup qualifier against their next opponents.

Quansah has kept his head down under the new Leverkusen manager, Kasper Hjulmand, and continued to do what he always intended to do at the club – compete. The new manager has brought stability. His team have positive results in their domestic campaign along with draws in each of their Champions League ties. But there is a broader statistic that motivates the player, even bringing a sense of justification. It is the one which shows he has played every minute of the club's campaign.

National Team Attention

It is one that the England head coach has observed. The national team manager was a admirer previously, selecting Quansah when he named his first squad. After omitting him in the summer so that Quansah could concentrate on the Under-21 European Championship, he provided him with a last-minute inclusion in September when John Stones was forced to withdraw.

Yet to earn his first cap, Quansah must have impressed sufficiently in practice sessions and around the camp because he was named at the outset in Tuchel's 24‑man group for the upcoming matches, effectively as a additional defensive option with the regular starter returning. The aspiration is a first appearance. It is another thing he would certainly take in his stride.

Career Choices

"With my new club, the club were interested in me for a considerable time and that's not only from the coach," Quansah explains. "They were interested 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 straightforward for me to make that decision.

"There were a numerous squad members departing and it's always tough when you lose key players. It has been difficult to build the leadership groups but the outcomes we have had [under Hjulmand] demonstrate that we have developed a competitive team with talented individuals. It is going to take time to develop and we are not where we want to be. But if we are achieving positive outcomes and not losing that is a solid foundation to begin from."

Leaving Childhood Club

It had to have been a difficult separation for Quansah to depart from Liverpool, his club from the age of five, where he experienced so many significant occasions – such as the league cup triumph over Chelsea in 2023‑24 when he was introduced as an late replacement.

Quansah was also a part of the previous campaign's Premier League title triumph. Yet his view of most of that achievement was not the one he would have chosen. He was an non-playing reserve on multiple matches in the competition, his four starts and nine appearances comparing unfavourably with his numbers from the prior season when he featured more regularly.

Career Development

"I consistently developed off some of the best players around me at my former club and it's been incredibly beneficial for my professional development," he says. "However, for a developing defender, you need games and I'm will require extensive playing time to be where I want to be.

"My primary desire was regular playing opportunities and when you are at a team like Liverpool, it's not promised because there are world-class players throughout the squad. I wanted somewhere where they can have confidence that I could errors at times but they will look under that and see I can keep pushing and improving."

Foundation Building

Quansah remembers his temporary transfer to the lower division club in the later part of that season where he debuted at professional level – 16 of them, to be exact. There were "multiple reality checks", he says with a grin, starting with his debut; a 5-1 defeat at Morecambe.

"That represented a true eye-opener," Quansah says. "It was a extremely important part of my career because I aimed to take the subsequent progression to regular senior competition. Each match I gained fresh insights. That's where I understood how crucial experience and playing games was. You could suggest it informed my decision in the off-season."