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"From the outside, it appears insane," Jarell Quansah remarks, as he looks back 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 end of June, Quansah decided to leave Liverpool, to go to the Bundesliga side in a multi-million pound transfer.

The significant transfer sum brought big pressure as the 22-year-old was charged with settling in in a new country and at a club where the turnover was dramatic. Erik ten Hag had stepped in to succeed the previous coach and a number of star performers were gone or going – including several high-profile names, Piero Hincapié, influential figures, Amine Adli, Granit Xhaka, Lukas Hradecky and team leaders.

Bundesliga Debut

Quansah's first league appearance came on August 23rd at their home ground to Hoffenheim and the central defender scored after five minutes, though the goal was overshadowed by sadness. His primary thought was his former Liverpool teammate, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah performed his teammate's signature celebration as a mark of respect.

"Scoring on your first Bundesliga match, at home, after the opening moments, is certainly a whirlwind," Quansah says. "But my overwhelming feeling was that it was a homage to Diogo."

Initial Struggles

The defender could have been excused for questioning what he had committed to at Leverkusen. From the promising start in their opening league fixture, they succumbed to a 2-1 defeat and the following game on August 30th was just as bad. The squad threw away comfortable advantages to finish level at their reduced opponents, the equaliser coming in added time. It was not Ten Hag's team for much longer. He was sacked on 1 September.

Staying Focused

Quansah doesn't appear to be the kind to worry. If composure characterizes his playing style, it was on show during the conversation he gave after joining the national team for the international friendly against their rivals and the qualifying match against their next opponents.

Quansah has remained focused under the new Leverkusen manager, the Danish tactician, and persisted in doing what he always intended to do at the club – play. Hjulmand has brought stability. 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 motivates the player, even bringing a measure of vindication. It is the one which shows he has been ever-present of the team's season.

National Team Attention

It is something that Thomas Tuchel has observed. The national team manager was a fan previously, selecting Quansah when he named his first squad. After omitting him 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 forced to withdraw.

Yet to earn his first cap, Quansah must have impressed sufficiently in training and within the squad environment because he was named at the outset in Tuchel's 24‑man group for Wales and Latvia, effectively as a additional defensive option with Stones fit again. The aspiration is a first appearance. It is another thing he would surely handle with ease.

Career Choices

"At Leverkusen, the team were interested in me for a while and that's not just from the coach," Quansah says. "They were interested before he got appointed. So knowing it was a sort of organizational choice and nothing would change with which manager was to come in ... it was easy for me to make that decision.

"There were a numerous squad members departing and it's consistently challenging when you lose key players. It has been difficult to build the leadership groups but the results we have had recently show that we have got a competitive team with talented individuals. It is going to take time to build and we are not where we want to be. But if we are achieving positive outcomes and avoiding defeats that is a good place to start."

Liverpool Departure

It had to have been a wrench for Quansah to leave his long-time club, his team since childhood, where he experienced so many memorable moments – such as the league cup triumph over Chelsea in the previous season when he came on as an extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also involved in last season's domestic championship success. Yet his perspective of most of that achievement was not the perspective he would have chosen. He was an non-playing reserve on multiple matches in the competition, his four starts and nine appearances falling short compared to his statistics from the prior season when he started nine games.

Career Development

"I've always learned off top-level professionals around me at Liverpool and it's been incredibly beneficial for my professional development," he comments. "But as a young centre-back, you require match experience and I'm going to be needing hundreds of games to be at my desired level.

"I just wanted regular playing opportunities and when you are at a top-level club, it's not promised because there are world-class players throughout the squad. I wanted an environment where they can have confidence that I could errors at times but they will look under that and recognize I can continue developing and improving."

Early Experience

Quansah remembers 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 precise. There were "multiple reality checks", he notes with a smile, starting with his debut; a heavy loss at their opponents.

"That was a true eye-opener," Quansah reflects. "It was a extremely important chapter in my development because I aimed to take the next step to regular senior competition. Every game I learned something new. That's when I knew how crucial practical knowledge and match practice was. You could suggest it influenced my choice in the off-season."