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"From the outside, it appears insane," Jarell Quansah says, as he looks back on his summer just gone, 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 the Bundesliga side in a multi-million pound transfer.

The big fee brought big pressure as the young defender was charged with finding his feet in a new country and at a team where the turnover was dramatic. Erik ten Hag had stepped in to replace Xabi Alonso and a number of star performers were departing or already left – chief among them several high-profile names, Piero Hincapié, Jeremie Frimpong, prominent athletes, Granit Xhaka, established players and Jonathan Tah.

League Introduction

Quansah's first league appearance came on August 23rd at home to their opponents and the centre-half scored after five minutes, though the achievement was overshadowed by sadness. All he could think about was his former Liverpool teammate, who was killed in a car accident. Quansah performed Jota's gamer celebration as a tribute.

"To have a goal on your Bundesliga debut, in front of home fans, after five minutes, is definitely a whirlwind," Quansah says. "But my overwhelming feeling was that it was a homage to Diogo."

Early Challenges

The defender could have been excused for questioning what he had committed to at the German club. After the encouraging beginning in their opening league fixture, they succumbed to a narrow loss and the following game on August 30th was just as bad. Ten Hag's team squandered comfortable advantages to draw 3-3 at their reduced opponents, the equaliser coming in added time. It was not Ten Hag's team for very long. He was sacked on September 1st.

Staying Focused

Quansah doesn't appear to be the type to fret. If calmness characterizes his playing style, it was evident during the interview he participated in after joining England for the international friendly against Wales and the qualifying match against Latvia.

Quansah has kept his head down under the current coach, Kasper Hjulmand, and continued to do what he always intended to do at the team – play. Hjulmand 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 motivates the player, even bringing a sense of justification. It is the one which shows he has been ever-present of the club's campaign.

National Team Attention

It is one that Thomas Tuchel has observed. The England head coach was a fan last season, including him when he named his first squad. After leaving him out in the summer so that Quansah could concentrate on the youth tournament, he gave him 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 named at the outset in Tuchel's squad selection for the upcoming matches, essentially as a fifth centre-back with Stones fit again. The aspiration is a debut. It is one more milestone he would certainly handle with ease.

Career Choices

"At Leverkusen, the club were interested in me for a considerable time and that's not just from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah explains. "Their interest existed before he got appointed. So knowing it was a type of internal decision and nothing would change with whatever coach was to take over ... it was easy for me to choose this path.

"We had a numerous squad members departing and it's consistently challenging when you see important figures leave. It has been tough to build the leadership groups but the outcomes we have had [under Hjulmand] demonstrate that we have developed a competitive team with quality players. It is requiring patience to build and we are still progressing. But if we are getting results and avoiding defeats that is a good place 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 experienced so many significant occasions – such as the Carabao Cup final victory over their London rivals in the previous season when he was introduced as an extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also involved in the previous campaign's Premier League title triumph. Yet his view of most of that achievement was not the one he would have chosen. He was an non-playing reserve on multiple matches in the competition, his limited playing time falling short compared to his statistics from 2023‑24 when he started nine games.

Professional Growth

"I've always learned off top-level professionals around me at Liverpool and it's been incredibly beneficial 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 team like Liverpool, it's not guaranteed because there are elite performers throughout the squad. I wanted somewhere where they can trust that I might make mistakes at times but they will look under that and see I can continue developing and pushing."

Foundation Building

Quansah recalls his loan to the lower division club in the later part of that season where he made his first senior appearances – 16 of them, to be precise. There were "numerous wake-up calls", he says with a smile, beginning with his debut; a 5-1 defeat at their opponents.

"That represented a true eye-opener," 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 understood how valuable experience and match practice was. You could suggest it influenced my choice in the off-season."