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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 crazy game."

A Quick Recap

Days after winning the European Under-21 Championship with England at the end of June, Quansah opted to depart from Liverpool, to go to Bayer Leverkusen in a multi-million pound transfer.

The significant transfer sum equalled high expectations as the young defender was tasked with settling in in a foreign land and at a team where the churn was dramatic. The new manager had taken over to succeed the previous coach and a number of key players were gone or going – including several high-profile names, key squad members, influential figures, Amine Adli, experienced professionals, Lukas Hradecky and team leaders.

League Introduction

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on August 23rd at home to Hoffenheim and the centre-half scored after the opening minutes, though the achievement was undercut by sadness. His primary thought was his former Liverpool teammate, who was killed in a car accident. Quansah performed Jota's gamer celebration as a mark of respect.

"To have a goal on your first Bundesliga match, at home, after the opening moments, is definitely a whirlwind," Quansah says. "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 opening league fixture, they fell to a narrow loss and the following game on 30 August was just as bad. Ten Hag's team squandered comfortable advantages to finish level at their reduced opponents, the equaliser coming in added time. It was no longer his responsibility for very long. He was sacked on September 1st.

Staying Focused

Quansah doesn't appear to be the kind to worry. If composure characterizes his playing style, it was evident during the interview he participated in after being selected for the national team for the international friendly against Wales and the qualifying match against Latvia.

Quansah has remained focused under the new Leverkusen manager, Kasper Hjulmand, and continued to do what he originally planned to do at the team – compete. The new manager has established consistency. 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 motivates the player, even bringing a sense of justification. It is the fact that demonstrates he has been ever-present of the club's campaign.

International Recognition

It is something that Thomas Tuchel has observed. The national team manager was a fan previously, selecting Quansah when he named his first squad. After omitting him in the summer so that Quansah could focus on the youth tournament, 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 impressed sufficiently in practice sessions and around the camp because he was named at the outset in the manager's 24‑man group for the upcoming matches, essentially as a fifth centre-back with Stones fit again. The aspiration is a debut. It is another thing he would surely take in his stride.

Career Choices

"With my new club, the club were interested in me for a while and that's not only from the coach," Quansah says. "They were interested prior to his arrival. So understanding it was a sort of internal decision and things would remain consistent with whatever coach was to take over ... it was easy for me to make that decision.

"We had a lot of players departing and it's consistently challenging when you lose key players. It has been tough to build the leadership groups but the results we have had recently demonstrate that we have developed a competitive team with talented individuals. It is requiring patience to build 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 2023‑24 when he came on as an extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also a part of last season's domestic championship success. Yet his view of much of that was not the one he would have preferred. He was an non-playing reserve on multiple matches in the league, his limited playing time falling short compared to his statistics from the prior season when he featured more regularly.

Career Development

"I've always learned off top-level professionals around me at my former club and it's been so good for my professional development," he says. "But as a young centre-back, you need games and I'm going to be needing extensive playing time to be at my desired level.

"I just wanted 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 an environment where they can trust that I could errors at certain moments but they will look under that and recognize I can continue developing and improving."

Foundation Building

Quansah recalls his temporary transfer to the lower division club in the second-half of 2022-23 where he made his first senior appearances – 16 of them, to be exact. There were "numerous wake-up calls", he says with a smile, starting with his first game; a heavy loss at their opponents.

"That represented a genuine revelation," Quansah reflects. "It was a really valuable part of my career because I wanted to make the subsequent progression to regular senior competition. Every game I gained fresh insights. That's where I knew how crucial practical knowledge and playing games was. You could suggest it informed my choice in the summer."