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

A Quick Recap

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

The big fee brought high expectations as the 22-year-old was tasked with finding his feet in a foreign land and at a team where the turnover was dramatic. Erik ten Hag had taken over to replace the previous coach and a number of key players were gone or going – chief among them several high-profile names, key squad members, Jeremie Frimpong, prominent athletes, Granit Xhaka, Lukas Hradecky and Jonathan Tah.

League Introduction

Quansah's first league appearance came on August 23rd at home to Hoffenheim and the centre-half found the net after five minutes, though the goal was overshadowed by sadness. His primary thought was Diogo Jota, 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 first Bundesliga match, at home, after the opening moments, is definitely a whirlwind," Quansah says. "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 committed to at the German club. After the encouraging beginning in their first league game, they succumbed to a narrow loss and the following game on 30 August was equally disappointing. Ten Hag's team threw away comfortable advantages to finish level at their reduced opponents, the tying goal coming in added time. It was not Ten Hag's team for very long. He was sacked on September 1st.

Maintaining Composure

Quansah doesn't appear to be the type to fret. If calmness defines his game, it was evident during the conversation he gave after joining England for the Wembley friendly against their rivals and the qualifying match against their next opponents.

Quansah has kept his head down under the current coach, Kasper Hjulmand, and persisted in doing what he always intended to do at the club – play. The new manager has brought stability. His squad have positive results in their domestic campaign 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 one which shows he has played every minute of the team's season.

International Recognition

It is one that Thomas Tuchel has observed. The England head coach was a fan previously, selecting Quansah when he announced his initial selection. After omitting him in June so that Quansah could concentrate on the youth tournament, he gave him a late call-up in the autumn when John Stones was forced to withdraw.

Still to win his international debut, Quansah must have done something right in training and around the camp because he was selected at the beginning in Tuchel's squad selection for Wales and Latvia, effectively as a fifth centre-back with Stones fit again. The dream is a first appearance. It is one more milestone he would surely take in his stride.

Decision Making

"With my new club, the team were interested in me for a while and that's not only from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah explains. "Their interest existed prior to his arrival. So knowing it was a type of organizational choice and things would remain consistent with whatever coach was to come in ... it was straightforward for me to make that decision.

"We had a lot of players departing and it's consistently challenging when you lose key players. It has been tough to establish new hierarchies but the outcomes we have had recently demonstrate that we have got a competitive team with quality players. It is requiring patience to build and we are still progressing. But if we are achieving positive outcomes and not losing that is a good place to begin from."

Liverpool Departure

It had to have been a wrench for Quansah to leave his long-time club, his club from the age of five, where he experienced so many significant occasions – such as the league cup triumph over Chelsea in 2023‑24 when he came on as an late replacement.

Quansah was also involved in the previous campaign's domestic championship success. Yet his view of much of that was not the one he would have chosen. He was an non-playing reserve on multiple matches in the competition, his four starts and nine appearances comparing unfavourably with his numbers from the prior season when he started nine games.

Career Development

"I consistently developed off some of the best players around me at Liverpool and it's been so good for my career," he says. "However, for a developing defender, you need games 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 team like Liverpool, it's not promised because there are world-class players all over the pitch. I wanted somewhere where they can have confidence that I might make mistakes at certain moments but they will look under that and see I can continue developing and improving."

Foundation Building

Quansah recalls his temporary transfer to the lower division club in the second-half of 2022-23 where he debuted at professional level – 16 of them, to be exact. There were "multiple reality checks", he notes with a smile, beginning with his first game; a 5-1 defeat at their opponents.

"That represented a true eye-opener," Quansah says. "It proved a extremely important chapter in my development because I aimed to take the subsequent progression to regular senior competition. Each match I gained fresh insights. That's where I understood how crucial practical knowledge and playing games was. You could say it informed my decision in the summer."