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"To an observer, it appears crazy," Jarell Quansah says, as he looks back on his recent summer, 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 European Under-21 Championship with the English national team at the conclusion of June, Quansah decided to leave Liverpool, to go to Bayer Leverkusen in a multi-million pound transfer.

The significant transfer sum brought high expectations as the 22-year-old was charged with finding his feet in a new country and at a club where the turnover was substantial. The new manager had taken over to succeed Xabi Alonso and a number of key players were departing or already left – chief among them Florian Wirtz, key squad members, influential figures, Amine Adli, experienced professionals, established players and Jonathan Tah.

League Introduction

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on 23 August at home to Hoffenheim and the centre-half scored after the opening minutes, though the goal was overshadowed by tragedy. All he could think about was Diogo Jota, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah performed Jota's gamer celebration as a mark of respect.

"Scoring on your Bundesliga debut, in front of home fans, after the opening moments, is certainly a whirlwind," Quansah states. "But my overwhelming feeling was that it was a homage to Diogo."

Early Challenges

The defender could have been forgiven for wondering what he had committed to at Leverkusen. After the encouraging beginning in their first league game, they fell to a 2-1 defeat and the next match on 30 August was just as bad. The squad threw away comfortable advantages to draw 3-3 at their reduced opponents, the equaliser coming in stoppage time. It was not Ten Hag's team for very long. His dismissal came on 1 September.

Staying Focused

Quansah does not come across as the kind to worry. If composure characterizes his playing style, it was on show during the conversation he gave after joining England for the Wembley friendly against Wales 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 club – compete. Hjulmand has established consistency. His squad have positive results in their domestic campaign along with ties in each of their European matches. But there is a broader statistic that encourages Quansah, even bringing a measure of vindication. It is the fact that demonstrates he has been ever-present of the team's season.

National Team Attention

It is something that the England head coach has observed. The England head coach was a admirer last season, including him when he announced his initial selection. After leaving him out in the summer so that Quansah could focus on the youth tournament, he gave him a late call-up in September when John Stones was forced to withdraw.

Still to win his first cap, Quansah must have impressed sufficiently in training and within the squad environment because he was selected at the outset in the manager's squad selection for Wales and Latvia, essentially as a fifth centre-back with Stones fit again. The aspiration is a first appearance. It is one more milestone he would certainly take in his stride.

Decision Making

"With my new club, the team were keen on signing me for a considerable time and that's not only from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah says. "They were interested prior to his arrival. So knowing it was a sort of internal decision and nothing would change with which manager was to take over ... it was straightforward for me to make that decision.

"We had a numerous squad members leaving and it's consistently challenging when you lose key players. It has been difficult to build the leadership groups but the results we have had recently demonstrate that we have got a competitive team with talented individuals. It is going to take time to develop and we are still progressing. But if we are getting results and not losing that is a solid foundation to begin from."

Liverpool Departure

It had to have been a wrench for Quansah to depart from his long-time club, his team since childhood, where he experienced so many significant occasions – such as the Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea in 2023‑24 when he was introduced as an extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also a part of last season's Premier League title triumph. Yet his view of much of that was not the one he would have preferred. He was an unused substitute on multiple matches in the competition, his four starts and nine appearances comparing unfavourably with his statistics from the prior season when he started nine games.

Career Development

"I've always learned off some of the best players around me at Liverpool and it's been so good for my professional development," he comments. "However, for a developing defender, you require match experience 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 all over the pitch. I wanted an environment where they can have confidence that I might make mistakes at certain moments but they will see beyond that and see I can continue developing and improving."

Foundation Building

Quansah remembers his loan to League One Bristol Rovers in the second-half of 2022-23 where he debuted at professional level – multiple matches, to be precise. There were "multiple reality checks", he says with a smile, beginning with his first game; a heavy loss at their opponents.

"That represented a genuine revelation," Quansah says. "It was a extremely important chapter in my development because I wanted to make the next step to regular senior competition. Each match I learned something new. That's where I understood how crucial practical knowledge and playing games was. You could say it informed my decision in the summer."