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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. "But it is one of them ... football is a unpredictable game."

A Quick Recap

Days after winning the U21 European Championship with England at the end of June, Quansah decided to leave his childhood club, to join Bayer Leverkusen in a multi-million pound transfer.

The significant transfer sum brought high expectations as the young defender was charged with finding his feet in a new country and at a club where the churn was substantial. Erik ten Hag had taken over to replace the previous coach and a host of star performers were gone or going – including several high-profile names, Piero Hincapié, influential figures, prominent athletes, experienced professionals, Lukas Hradecky and team leaders.

League Introduction

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on August 23rd at home to their opponents and the central defender found the net after five minutes, albeit the achievement was overshadowed by tragedy. All he could think about was Diogo Jota, who was killed in a car accident. Quansah performed his teammate's signature celebration as a tribute.

"Scoring on your first Bundesliga match, at home, after five minutes, is certainly a whirlwind," Quansah states. "But my overwhelming feeling was that it was a tribute to Diogo."

Early Challenges

The player could have been forgiven for wondering what he had signed up for at the German club. After the encouraging beginning in their opening league fixture, they fell to a narrow loss and the following game on 30 August was just as bad. The squad squandered 2-0 and 3-1 leads to finish level at 10-man Werder Bremen, the equaliser coming in stoppage time. It was no longer his responsibility for much longer. His dismissal came on 1 September.

Staying Focused

Quansah doesn't appear to be the type to fret. If composure defines his game, it was evident during the interview he participated in after joining England for the Wembley friendly against Wales and the qualifying match against their next opponents.

Quansah has remained focused under the new Leverkusen manager, Kasper Hjulmand, and continued to do what he originally planned to do at the team – compete. The new manager has brought stability. His team have three wins and one draw in four league matches along with ties in each of their European matches. But there is a more significant number that encourages Quansah, even bringing a measure of vindication. It is the fact that demonstrates he has played every minute of the club's campaign.

International Recognition

It is something that the England head coach has noted. The England head coach was a admirer previously, including him when he named his first squad. After leaving him out in the summer so that Quansah could focus on the youth tournament, he provided him with a last-minute inclusion in the autumn when the experienced defender was compelled to pull out.

Yet to earn his first cap, Quansah must have impressed sufficiently in practice sessions and within the squad environment because he was selected at the outset in Tuchel's 24‑man group for the upcoming matches, effectively as a fifth centre-back with the regular starter returning. The aspiration is a debut. It is another thing he would surely 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 coach," Quansah says. "They were interested prior to his arrival. So knowing it was a sort of organizational choice and nothing would change with which manager was to take over ... it was straightforward for me to make that decision.

"There were a lot of players departing and it's always tough when you lose key players. It has been difficult to build the leadership groups but the results we have had [under Hjulmand] demonstrate that we have developed a competitive team 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 solid foundation to start."

Leaving Childhood Club

It had to have been a wrench for Quansah to leave Liverpool, 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 a part of last season's Premier League title triumph. Yet his perspective of much of that was not the one 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 numbers from the prior season when he started nine games.

Career Development

"I consistently developed off top-level professionals around me at my former club and it's been incredibly beneficial for my career," he says. "But as a young centre-back, you require match experience and I'm will require hundreds of games to be at my desired level.

"My primary desire was game time 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 could errors at times but they will see beyond that and see I can continue developing and improving."

Foundation Building

Quansah remembers his loan to the lower division club in the later part of that season where he debuted at professional level – 16 of them, to be precise. There were "multiple reality checks", he says with a grin, starting with his first game; a heavy loss at their opponents.

"That was a genuine revelation," Quansah says. "It proved a extremely important part of my career because I aimed to take the next step to playing first-team football. Every game I learned something new. That's where I knew how crucial practical knowledge and match practice was. You could suggest it influenced my decision in the summer."