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"To an observer, it seems crazy," Jarell Quansah remarks, as he reflects on his summer just gone, when dizzying change felt like a constant. "However, that's just how it goes ... football is a crazy game."

A Quick Recap

Shortly after claiming victory in 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 big fee equalled big pressure as the young defender was tasked with settling in in a foreign land and at a team where the turnover was substantial. The new manager had taken over to replace Xabi Alonso and a number of key players were departing or already left – chief among them several high-profile names, Piero Hincapié, Jeremie Frimpong, Amine Adli, experienced professionals, Lukas Hradecky and Jonathan Tah.

League Introduction

Quansah's first league appearance came on 23 August at home to Hoffenheim and the centre-half found the net after five minutes, though the achievement was overshadowed by tragedy. All he could think about was his former Liverpool teammate, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah performed Jota's gamer celebration as a mark of respect.

"To have a goal on your Bundesliga debut, at home, after five minutes, is certainly a whirlwind," 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 Leverkusen. After the encouraging beginning in their first league game, they fell to a narrow loss and the following game on August 30th was equally disappointing. Ten Hag's team threw away comfortable advantages to draw 3-3 at their reduced opponents, the equaliser coming in added time. It was not Ten Hag's team for much longer. He was sacked on September 1st.

Staying Focused

Quansah does not come across as the kind to worry. If calmness characterizes his playing style, it was on show during the conversation he gave after joining the national team for the international friendly against Wales and the World Cup qualifier against Latvia.

Quansah has remained focused under the new Leverkusen manager, Kasper Hjulmand, and persisted in doing what he always intended to do at the club – play. The new manager has established consistency. His team have three wins and one draw in four league matches along with ties in each of their Champions League ties. But there is a broader statistic that encourages Quansah, even bringing a sense of justification. It is the fact that demonstrates he has played every minute of the team's season.

National Team Attention

It is something that the England head coach has noted. The national team manager was a admirer previously, selecting Quansah when he named his first squad. After omitting him in the summer so that Quansah could focus on the Under-21 European Championship, he gave him 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 within the squad environment because he was named at the beginning in Tuchel's 24‑man group for Wales and Latvia, effectively as a additional defensive option with the regular starter returning. The aspiration is a debut. It is another thing he would surely handle with ease.

Career Choices

"With my new club, the club were interested in 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 straightforward for me to make that decision.

"There were a lot of players leaving and it's always tough when you lose key players. It has been difficult to establish new hierarchies but the outcomes we have had recently show that we have developed a good squad with talented individuals. It is going to take time to develop and we are not where we want to be. But if we are getting results and avoiding defeats that is a good place to begin from."

Liverpool Departure

It had to have been a difficult separation for Quansah to leave his long-time club, his team since childhood, where he enjoyed so many significant occasions – such as the Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea in the previous season when he came on as an late replacement.

Quansah was also a part of last season's domestic championship success. Yet his view of much of that was not the perspective he would have preferred. He was an unused substitute on multiple matches in the league, his limited playing time falling short compared to his numbers from 2023‑24 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 will require extensive playing time to be at my desired level.

"I just wanted game time and when you are at a top-level club, 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 times but they will see beyond that and see I can keep pushing and improving."

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 – multiple matches, to be exact. There were "numerous wake-up calls", he says with a grin, beginning with his debut; a heavy loss at Morecambe.

"That represented a genuine revelation," Quansah says. "It was a really valuable part of my career because I wanted to make the next step to playing first-team football. Every game I gained fresh insights. That's when I understood how crucial experience and playing games was. You could suggest it influenced my choice in the summer."