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

A Brief Summary

Shortly after winning the European Under-21 Championship with the English national team at the end of June, Quansah decided to leave 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 foreign land and at a team where the turnover was dramatic. Erik ten Hag had stepped in to replace the previous coach and a number of key players were departing or already left – chief among them several high-profile names, key squad members, influential figures, prominent athletes, experienced professionals, Lukas Hradecky and Jonathan Tah.

Bundesliga Debut

Quansah's first league appearance came on August 23rd at home to Hoffenheim and the central defender scored after the opening minutes, albeit the achievement was overshadowed 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.

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

Early Challenges

The player could have been forgiven for wondering what he had signed up for at the German club. After the encouraging beginning in their first league game, they succumbed to a 2-1 defeat and the following game on 30 August was equally disappointing. Ten Hag's team squandered comfortable advantages to draw 3-3 at 10-man Werder Bremen, the equaliser coming in added time. It was no longer his responsibility for very long. His dismissal came on September 1st.

Maintaining Composure

Quansah doesn't appear to be the kind to worry. If calmness characterizes his playing style, it was evident during the conversation he participated in after joining the national team 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 continued to do what he originally planned to do at the team – compete. Hjulmand has brought stability. His team have three wins and one draw in their domestic campaign along with draws in each of their European matches. 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 been ever-present of the team's season.

National Team Attention

It is one that Thomas Tuchel has observed. The England head coach was a admirer last season, including him when he named his first squad. After leaving him out in the summer so that Quansah could concentrate on the Under-21 European Championship, he provided him with a late call-up in September when John Stones was forced to withdraw.

Yet to earn his first cap, Quansah must have done something right in practice sessions and within the squad environment because he was selected at the beginning in Tuchel's squad selection for the upcoming matches, effectively as a fifth centre-back with the regular starter returning. The dream is a debut. It is another thing he would certainly handle with ease.

Decision Making

"With my new club, the club were interested in me for a while and that's not only from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah says. "They were interested prior to his arrival. So knowing it was a type of organizational choice and things would remain consistent with which manager was to come in ... it was easy for me to make that decision.

"There were a lot of players leaving and it's consistently challenging when you see important figures leave. It has been difficult to build the leadership groups but the results we have had recently demonstrate that we have developed a competitive team with quality players. It is requiring patience to build and we are still progressing. But if we are getting results and not losing that is a good place to begin from."

Liverpool Departure

It had to have been a wrench for Quansah to leave his long-time club, his team since childhood, where he enjoyed so many memorable moments – such as the league cup triumph over their London rivals in 2023‑24 when he came on as an late replacement.

Quansah was also involved in last season's domestic championship success. 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 league, his limited playing time comparing unfavourably with his statistics from 2023‑24 when he started nine games.

Professional Growth

"I consistently developed off some of the best players around me at my former club and it's been so good for my professional development," he says. "However, for a developing defender, you need games and I'm going to be needing hundreds of games to be where I want to be.

"My primary desire was regular playing opportunities and when you are at a top-level club, it's not promised because there are world-class players throughout the squad. I wanted an environment where they can trust that I might make mistakes at times but they will see beyond that and recognize I can continue developing and pushing."

Early Experience

Quansah remembers his loan 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 notes with a grin, beginning with his debut; a 5-1 defeat at their opponents.

"That represented a true eye-opener," Quansah says. "It proved a really valuable part of my career because I wanted to make the subsequent progression to playing first-team football. Every game I gained fresh insights. That's when I knew how valuable experience and playing games was. You could say it informed my choice in the off-season."