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"From the outside, it seems insane," 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 U21 European Championship with England at the conclusion of June, Quansah decided to leave Liverpool, to join the Bundesliga side in a multi-million pound transfer.

The significant transfer sum equalled big pressure as the 22-year-old was tasked with settling in in a new country and at a club where the churn was dramatic. The new manager had stepped in to replace Xabi Alonso and a host of key players were gone or going – including several high-profile names, key squad members, Jeremie Frimpong, prominent athletes, Granit Xhaka, Lukas Hradecky and Jonathan Tah.

League Introduction

Quansah's first league appearance came on 23 August at home to Hoffenheim and the centre-half scored after the opening minutes, though the goal was undercut by sadness. His primary thought was Diogo Jota, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah executed Jota's gamer celebration as a mark of respect.

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

Initial Struggles

The player could have been excused for questioning what he had committed to at the German club. From the promising start in their first league game, they succumbed to a narrow loss and the next match on 30 August was equally disappointing. Ten Hag's team threw away 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 much longer. He was sacked on 1 September.

Maintaining Composure

Quansah doesn't appear to be the type to fret. If calmness defines his game, it was evident during the interview he participated in after being selected for England for the international friendly against their rivals and the qualifying match against their next opponents.

Quansah has kept his head down under the new Leverkusen manager, the Danish tactician, and persisted in doing what he originally planned to do at the club – compete. Hjulmand has brought stability. His squad have three wins and one draw 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 measure of vindication. It is the fact that demonstrates he has played every minute of the team's season.

National Team Attention

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

Still to win his international debut, Quansah must have done something right in training and around the camp because he was selected at the beginning in Tuchel's squad selection 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 surely take in his stride.

Career Choices

"With my new club, the team were keen on signing me for a while and that's not only from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah says. "Their interest existed prior to his arrival. So knowing it was a type of internal decision and nothing would change with which manager was to take over ... it was straightforward for me to make that decision.

"We had a numerous squad members leaving and it's consistently challenging when you lose key players. It has been tough to build the leadership groups but the outcomes we have had recently show that we have developed a good squad with talented individuals. It is going to take time to develop and we are not where we want to be. But if we are getting results and avoiding defeats that is a good place to start."

Leaving Childhood Club

It had to have been a wrench for Quansah to depart from his long-time club, his team since childhood, where he enjoyed so many significant occasions – such as the league cup triumph over Chelsea in 2023‑24 when he was introduced as an extra-time substitute.

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 perspective he would have preferred. He was an unused substitute on multiple matches in the competition, his four starts and nine appearances comparing unfavourably with his statistics from the prior season when he started nine games.

Career Development

"I've always learned off some of the best players around me at my former club and it's been incredibly beneficial for my career," 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 guaranteed because there are world-class players all over the pitch. I wanted an environment where they can trust that I might make mistakes at times but they will look under that and see I can continue developing and improving."

Early Experience

Quansah recalls his temporary transfer to League One Bristol Rovers in the second-half of 2022-23 where he debuted at professional level – 16 of them, 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 represented a true eye-opener," Quansah reflects. "It proved a extremely important part of my career because I aimed to take the next step to playing first-team football. Every game I gained fresh insights. That's when I understood how crucial experience and playing games was. You could say it influenced my choice in the off-season."