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

A Quick Recap

Shortly after claiming victory in the U21 European Championship with England at the conclusion of June, Quansah opted to depart from 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 foreign land and at a team where the turnover was substantial. Erik ten Hag had stepped in to succeed Xabi Alonso and a host of key players were departing or already left – chief among them Florian Wirtz, key squad members, influential figures, prominent athletes, experienced professionals, established players and team leaders.

Bundesliga Debut

Quansah's first league appearance came on 23 August at their home ground to their opponents and the centre-half scored after the opening minutes, though the achievement 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.

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

Initial Struggles

The player could have been forgiven for wondering what he had signed up for at Leverkusen. After the encouraging beginning in their first league game, they succumbed to a narrow loss and the next match on August 30th was equally disappointing. Ten Hag's team squandered 2-0 and 3-1 leads to draw 3-3 at 10-man Werder Bremen, the equaliser coming in stoppage time. It was not Ten Hag's team for much longer. His dismissal came on 1 September.

Staying Focused

Quansah doesn't appear to be the type to fret. If calmness characterizes his playing style, it was evident during the interview he gave after being selected for England for the international friendly against their rivals and the World Cup qualifier against their next opponents.

Quansah has remained focused under the new Leverkusen manager, the Danish tactician, and persisted in doing what he originally planned to do at the team – play. Hjulmand has brought stability. His team have three wins and one draw in four league matches along with ties in each of their European matches. But there is a more significant number that motivates the player, even bringing a sense of justification. It is the one which shows he has played every minute of the team's season.

National Team Attention

It is something that Thomas Tuchel has observed. The national team manager was a admirer previously, selecting Quansah when he named his first squad. After omitting him in June so that Quansah could focus on the youth tournament, he provided him with a late call-up in the autumn when the experienced defender was compelled to pull out.

Yet to earn his international debut, Quansah must have done something right in training and around the camp because he was selected at the outset in Tuchel's squad selection for the upcoming matches, essentially as a fifth centre-back with Stones fit again. The aspiration is a debut. It is one more milestone he would certainly handle with ease.

Career Choices

"With my new club, the team were interested in me for a considerable time and that's not only from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah says. "They were interested before he got appointed. So knowing it was a type of organizational choice and nothing would change with which manager was to come in ... it was easy for me to choose this path.

"There were 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 [under Hjulmand] show that we have got 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."

Liverpool Departure

It had to have been a wrench for Quansah to leave his long-time club, his club from the age of five, where he experienced so many memorable moments – such as the league cup triumph over their London rivals in the previous season when he came on as an extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also involved in the previous campaign's Premier League title triumph. Yet his view of most of that achievement was not the perspective he would have chosen. He was an non-playing reserve on 25 occasions in the competition, his limited playing time comparing unfavourably with his statistics from 2023‑24 when he featured more regularly.

Career Development

"I've always learned off top-level professionals around me at Liverpool and it's been so good for my career," he says. "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 times but they will look under that and see I can continue developing and pushing."

Early Experience

Quansah recalls his loan to the lower division club in the second-half of 2022-23 where he debuted at professional level – multiple matches, to be precise. There were "multiple reality checks", he notes with a grin, starting with his debut; a 5-1 defeat at Morecambe.

"That was a true eye-opener," Quansah reflects. "It was a extremely important chapter in my development because I wanted to make the next step to regular senior competition. Every game I learned something new. That's when I understood how valuable experience and playing games was. You could say it influenced my decision in the off-season."