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"To an observer, it appears crazy," Jarell Quansah remarks, as he reflects on his recent summer, when rapid transformation 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 decided to leave Liverpool, to join the Bundesliga side in a £30m deal.

The significant transfer sum equalled big pressure as the young defender was tasked with finding his feet in a new country and at a team where the churn was substantial. The new manager had taken over to replace Xabi Alonso and a number of star performers were departing or already left – including Florian Wirtz, Piero Hincapié, Jeremie Frimpong, prominent athletes, experienced professionals, Lukas Hradecky and team leaders.

Bundesliga Debut

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on August 23rd at home to their opponents and the central defender found the net after five minutes, albeit the achievement was undercut by sadness. His primary thought was his former Liverpool teammate, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah executed Jota's gamer celebration as a mark of respect.

"Scoring on your first Bundesliga match, in front of home fans, after five minutes, is certainly a rollercoaster," Quansah says. "However, my dominant emotion was that it was a tribute to Diogo."

Initial Struggles

The defender could have been forgiven for wondering what he had committed to at the German club. From the promising start in their opening league fixture, 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 finish level at their reduced opponents, the tying goal coming in stoppage time. It was not Ten Hag's team for much longer. His dismissal came on 1 September.

Maintaining Composure

Quansah doesn't appear to be the kind to worry. If calmness 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 their next opponents.

Quansah has kept his head down under the new Leverkusen manager, Kasper Hjulmand, and persisted in doing what he originally planned to do at the team – play. The new manager has brought stability. His team have positive results in four league matches along with ties in each of their Champions League ties. But there is a more significant number that encourages Quansah, even bringing a sense of justification. It is the fact that demonstrates he has been ever-present of the club's campaign.

National Team Attention

It is one that the England head coach has observed. The national team manager was a fan previously, including him when he announced his initial selection. After leaving him out in the summer so that Quansah could focus on the Under-21 European Championship, he gave him a late call-up in the autumn when John Stones was compelled to pull out.

Still to win his first cap, Quansah must have done something right 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 Stones fit again. The aspiration is a first appearance. It is one more milestone 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 just from the coach," Quansah says. "They were interested prior to his arrival. So understanding it was a sort of organizational choice and things would remain consistent with whatever coach was to come in ... it was straightforward for me to choose this path.

"There were a numerous squad members departing and it's consistently challenging when you see important figures leave. It has been difficult to build the leadership groups but the outcomes we have had [under Hjulmand] show that we have got a competitive team with quality players. It is going to take time to build and we are still progressing. But if we are getting results and not losing that is a good place to start."

Liverpool Departure

It had to have been a difficult separation for Quansah to depart from his long-time club, his team since childhood, where he experienced so many significant occasions – such as the league cup triumph over Chelsea in the previous season when he came on as an extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also a part of the previous campaign's domestic championship success. Yet his perspective of much of that was not the perspective he would have preferred. He was an non-playing reserve on multiple matches in the league, his four starts and nine appearances falling short compared to his statistics from 2023‑24 when he started nine games.

Career Development

"I've always learned off some of the best players around me at Liverpool and it's been incredibly beneficial for my career," he comments. "But as a young centre-back, you require match experience and I'm going to be needing hundreds of games to be at my desired level.

"I just wanted regular playing opportunities and when you are at a team like Liverpool, it's not guaranteed because there are elite performers throughout the squad. I wanted somewhere where they can trust that I might make mistakes at certain moments but they will see beyond that and see I can continue developing and pushing."

Foundation Building

Quansah recalls his loan 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 says with a smile, beginning with his debut; a 5-1 defeat at Morecambe.

"That was a genuine revelation," Quansah says. "It proved a extremely important part of my career because I aimed to take the next step to regular senior competition. Every game I gained fresh insights. That's where I understood how crucial practical knowledge and playing games was. You could say it informed my decision in the summer."