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"From the outside, 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 U21 European Championship with the English national team at the end of June, Quansah decided to leave his childhood club, to go to Bayer Leverkusen in a multi-million pound transfer.

The big fee brought high expectations as the young defender was tasked with finding his feet in a new country and at a team where the churn was substantial. The new manager had taken over to succeed Xabi Alonso and a number of star performers were departing or already left – chief among them several high-profile names, key squad members, Jeremie Frimpong, prominent athletes, experienced professionals, Lukas Hradecky and Jonathan Tah.

Bundesliga Debut

Quansah's first league appearance came on 23 August at home to their opponents and the central defender scored after five minutes, though the goal was undercut by sadness. His primary thought was his former Liverpool teammate, who was killed in a car accident. 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. "But my overwhelming feeling was that it was a homage to Diogo."

Early Challenges

The player could have been forgiven for wondering what he had signed up for at the German club. From the promising start in their opening league fixture, they succumbed to a narrow loss and the next match on August 30th was just as bad. Ten Hag's team squandered 2-0 and 3-1 leads to finish level at their reduced opponents, the tying goal coming in stoppage time. It was no longer his responsibility for very long. His dismissal came on September 1st.

Staying Focused

Quansah doesn't appear to be the type to fret. If composure characterizes his playing style, it was on show during the interview he participated in after being selected for the national team for the international friendly against their rivals and the qualifying match against their next opponents.

Quansah has remained focused under the current coach, the Danish tactician, and persisted in doing what he always intended to do at the team – play. 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 sense of justification. It is the one which shows he has played every minute of the team's season.

International Recognition

It is one that Thomas Tuchel has observed. The England head coach was a fan last season, including him when he named his first squad. After omitting him in June 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 training and around the camp because he was selected at the beginning in Tuchel's squad selection for Wales and Latvia, essentially as a additional defensive option with the regular starter returning. The dream is a debut. It is one more milestone he would certainly handle with ease.

Decision Making

"At Leverkusen, the club were keen on signing me for a considerable time and that's not just from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah explains. "Their interest existed prior to his arrival. So knowing it was a type of internal decision and nothing would change with whatever coach was to come in ... it was easy for me to choose this path.

"We had a lot of players departing and it's always tough 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 good squad with talented individuals. It is requiring patience to build and we are still progressing. But if we are getting results and avoiding defeats 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 team since childhood, where he experienced so many memorable moments – such as the league cup triumph over Chelsea in the previous season when he came on as an late replacement.

Quansah was also a part of the previous campaign's Premier League title triumph. Yet his perspective of most of that achievement was not the one he would have chosen. He was an unused substitute on multiple matches in the competition, his four starts and nine appearances comparing unfavourably with his numbers from 2023‑24 when he started nine games.

Professional Growth

"I consistently developed off some of the best players around me at Liverpool and it's been incredibly beneficial for my career," he says. "But as a young centre-back, you need games and I'm going to be needing extensive playing time to be where I want to be.

"My primary desire was regular playing opportunities and when you are at a team like Liverpool, it's not promised because there are elite performers throughout the squad. I wanted an environment where they can have confidence 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 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, beginning with his first game; a heavy loss at their opponents.

"That represented a true eye-opener," Quansah says. "It was a really valuable chapter in my development because I wanted to make the next step to playing first-team football. Every game I learned something new. That's when I knew how crucial experience and playing games was. You could say it influenced my choice in the summer."