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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 Quick Recap

Days after winning the European Under-21 Championship with England at the conclusion of June, Quansah decided to leave Liverpool, to join Bayer Leverkusen in a multi-million pound transfer.

The significant transfer sum brought high expectations as the young defender was charged with settling in in a foreign land and at a team where the turnover was substantial. The new manager had taken over to succeed Xabi Alonso and a number of key players were gone or going – chief among them several high-profile names, Piero Hincapié, influential figures, Amine Adli, experienced professionals, Lukas Hradecky and team leaders.

League Introduction

Quansah's first league appearance came on 23 August at their home ground to their opponents and the centre-half scored after the opening minutes, though the goal was undercut by tragedy. 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, at home, after five minutes, is definitely a whirlwind," Quansah states. "However, my dominant emotion was that it was a homage to Diogo."

Early Challenges

The player could have been forgiven for wondering what he had committed to at the German club. From the promising start in their first league game, they succumbed to a narrow loss and the next match on 30 August was equally disappointing. The squad squandered comfortable advantages to finish level at 10-man Werder Bremen, the equaliser coming in added time. It was no longer his responsibility for much longer. His dismissal came on September 1st.

Staying Focused

Quansah doesn't appear to be the type to fret. If composure defines his game, it was evident during the conversation he participated in after joining England for the international friendly against their rivals and the World Cup qualifier 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 established consistency. His team have three wins and one draw in their domestic campaign along with ties 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 one which shows he has played every minute of the team's season.

International Recognition

It is something that Thomas Tuchel has noted. The national team manager was a fan last season, including him when he announced his initial selection. After leaving him out in the summer so that Quansah could concentrate on the Under-21 European Championship, he gave him a late call-up in the autumn when John Stones was forced to withdraw.

Yet to earn his first cap, Quansah must have impressed sufficiently in practice sessions and within the squad environment because he was named at the beginning in Tuchel's 24‑man group for Wales and Latvia, essentially as a fifth centre-back with the regular starter returning. The aspiration is a debut. 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 while and that's not just from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah says. "Their interest existed prior to his arrival. So knowing it was a sort of organizational choice and things would remain consistent with whatever coach was to come in ... it was easy for me to make that decision.

"There were a lot of players departing and it's always tough when you see important figures leave. It has been tough to build the leadership groups but the outcomes we have had recently demonstrate that we have developed a good squad with quality players. It is requiring patience to develop and we are still progressing. But if we are achieving positive outcomes and not losing that is a solid foundation to begin from."

Leaving Childhood Club

It had to have been a difficult separation for Quansah to depart from Liverpool, his club from the age of five, where he enjoyed so many memorable moments – such as the Carabao Cup final victory over their London rivals in 2023‑24 when he was introduced as an extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also involved in last season's domestic championship success. Yet his view of most of that achievement was not the one he would have chosen. He was an unused substitute on 25 occasions in the competition, his limited playing time comparing unfavourably with his numbers from 2023‑24 when he started nine games.

Professional Growth

"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. "But as a young centre-back, you require match experience and I'm will require extensive playing time to be at my desired level.

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

Early Experience

Quansah remembers his loan to the lower division club in the later part of that season where he made his first senior appearances – multiple matches, to be exact. There were "numerous wake-up calls", he says with a smile, starting with his debut; a heavy loss at Morecambe.

"That was 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 where I understood how valuable experience and match practice was. You could suggest it influenced my choice in the summer."