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"From the outside, it seems insane," Jarell Quansah remarks, as he looks back on his summer just gone, 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 opted to depart from his childhood club, to join the Bundesliga side in a £30m deal.

The big fee equalled high expectations as the young defender was tasked with settling in in a new country and at a club where the churn was substantial. The new manager had taken over to succeed Xabi Alonso and a number of key players were gone or going – including Florian Wirtz, Piero Hincapié, Jeremie Frimpong, prominent athletes, Granit Xhaka, established players and team leaders.

League Introduction

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on August 23rd at their home ground to their opponents and the centre-half scored after five minutes, albeit the goal was undercut by tragedy. All he could think about was Diogo Jota, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah performed his teammate's signature celebration as a mark of respect.

"Scoring on your first Bundesliga match, in front of home fans, after the opening moments, is definitely a whirlwind," Quansah says. "However, my dominant emotion was that it was a homage to Diogo."

Initial Struggles

The defender 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 fell 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 10-man Werder Bremen, the equaliser coming in added time. It was no longer his responsibility for much longer. He was sacked on September 1st.

Maintaining Composure

Quansah doesn't appear to be the type to fret. If calmness characterizes his playing style, it was on show during the interview he participated in after being selected for the national team for the Wembley friendly against Wales and the qualifying match against Latvia.

Quansah has remained focused under the new Leverkusen manager, Kasper Hjulmand, and persisted in doing what he originally planned to do at the team – compete. The new manager has established consistency. His squad have positive results in their domestic campaign along with draws in each of their Champions League ties. But there is a more significant number that motivates the player, even bringing a measure of vindication. 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 England head coach was a admirer last season, including him when he named his first squad. After omitting him 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.

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 the manager's squad selection for the upcoming matches, effectively as a additional defensive option with Stones fit again. The dream is a debut. It is one more milestone he would certainly take in his stride.

Decision Making

"At Leverkusen, the club were keen on signing me for a while and that's not just from the coach," Quansah explains. "They were interested before he got appointed. So understanding it was a type of internal decision and things would remain consistent with which manager was to take over ... it was straightforward for me to make that decision.

"There were a lot of players leaving and it's consistently challenging when you lose key players. It has been difficult to establish new hierarchies but the outcomes we have had recently show that we have got a good squad with quality players. It is going to take time to build and we are still progressing. But if we are achieving positive outcomes and avoiding defeats that is a solid foundation to begin from."

Liverpool Departure

It had to have been a wrench for Quansah to depart from Liverpool, his team since childhood, where he experienced 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 involved in last season's Premier League title triumph. Yet his view of much of that was not the one he would have chosen. He was an non-playing reserve on 25 occasions in the competition, his limited playing time falling short compared to his statistics from the prior season when he started nine games.

Professional Growth

"I consistently developed off top-level professionals around me at Liverpool and it's been incredibly beneficial for my career," he says. "However, for a developing defender, you require match experience 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 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 might make mistakes at certain moments but they will see beyond that and recognize I can continue developing and improving."

Foundation Building

Quansah remembers his temporary transfer to League One Bristol Rovers in the second-half of 2022-23 where he made his first senior appearances – multiple matches, to be exact. There were "multiple reality checks", he says with a grin, beginning with his first game; a 5-1 defeat at their opponents.

"That represented a genuine revelation," Quansah says. "It was a extremely important chapter in my development because I aimed to take the next step to regular senior competition. Every game I gained fresh insights. That's where I understood how valuable experience and playing games was. You could suggest it informed my choice in the summer."