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"To an observer, it appears insane," Jarell Quansah remarks, as he looks back on his recent summer, when rapid transformation felt like a constant. "But it is one of them ... football is a unpredictable game."

A Quick Recap

Days after winning the European Under-21 Championship with England at the conclusion of June, Quansah opted to depart from his childhood club, to join Bayer Leverkusen in a multi-million pound transfer.

The big fee equalled big pressure as the 22-year-old was tasked with settling in in a new country and at a club where the churn was dramatic. The new manager had stepped in to succeed Xabi Alonso and a number of star performers were departing or already left – including Florian Wirtz, Piero Hincapié, Jeremie Frimpong, Amine Adli, experienced professionals, established players and team leaders.

League Introduction

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on 23 August at their home ground to Hoffenheim and the centre-half scored after the opening minutes, albeit the achievement was overshadowed by tragedy. His primary thought was Diogo Jota, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah executed his teammate's signature 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 says. "However, my dominant emotion was that it was a homage to Diogo."

Early Challenges

The player could have been excused for questioning what he had signed up for at Leverkusen. From the promising start in their opening league fixture, they fell to a narrow loss and the following game on August 30th was just as bad. The squad threw away comfortable advantages to draw 3-3 at 10-man Werder Bremen, the equaliser coming in stoppage time. It was not Ten Hag's team for much longer. He was sacked 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 participated in after being selected for the national team for the Wembley friendly against Wales and the World Cup qualifier against Latvia.

Quansah has kept his head down under the new Leverkusen manager, Kasper Hjulmand, and continued to do what he always intended to do at the club – compete. Hjulmand has brought stability. His team have three wins and one draw in four league matches along with draws in each of their Champions League ties. But there is a broader statistic that motivates the player, even bringing a measure of vindication. It is the fact that demonstrates he has played every minute of the team's season.

International Recognition

It is one that the England head coach has observed. The national team manager was a fan last season, selecting Quansah when he announced his initial selection. After leaving him out in June so that Quansah could focus on the Under-21 European Championship, he gave him a last-minute inclusion in September when John Stones was compelled to pull out.

Yet to earn 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, effectively as a fifth centre-back 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 team were keen on signing me for a while and that's not only from the coach," Quansah explains. "They were interested prior to his arrival. So knowing it was a sort of internal decision and things would remain consistent with whatever coach was to come in ... it was easy for me to choose this path.

"There were a numerous squad members leaving and it's always tough when you see important figures leave. It has been difficult to establish new hierarchies but the outcomes we have had [under Hjulmand] demonstrate that we have developed a competitive team with talented individuals. It is requiring patience to develop and we are not where we want to be. But if we are getting results and not losing that is a good place to start."

Liverpool Departure

It had to have been a wrench for Quansah to depart from 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 Chelsea in 2023‑24 when he was introduced as an late replacement.

Quansah was also involved in the previous campaign's Premier League title triumph. Yet his view of much of that was not the perspective he would have preferred. He was an non-playing reserve on 25 occasions in the competition, his four starts and nine appearances falling short compared to his statistics from 2023‑24 when he started nine games.

Career Development

"I've always learned off some of the best players around me at my former club and it's been incredibly beneficial for my professional development," he says. "But as a young centre-back, you require match experience and I'm will require 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 could errors at certain moments but they will look under that and see I can continue developing and pushing."

Foundation Building

Quansah recalls his temporary transfer to League One Bristol Rovers in the second-half of 2022-23 where he made his first senior appearances – 16 of them, to be exact. There were "multiple reality checks", he notes with a smile, beginning with his debut; a 5-1 defeat at Morecambe.

"That was a genuine revelation," Quansah reflects. "It proved a really valuable chapter in my development because I wanted to make the subsequent progression to playing first-team football. Each match I learned something new. That's where I understood how crucial practical knowledge and playing games was. You could suggest it influenced my choice in the off-season."