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"To an observer, it seems insane," Jarell Quansah says, as he reflects on his recent summer, when rapid transformation felt like a constant. "But it is one of them ... football is a crazy game."

A Brief Summary

Days after claiming victory in the European Under-21 Championship with England at the conclusion of June, Quansah decided to leave his childhood club, to join Bayer Leverkusen in a £30m deal.

The big fee equalled big pressure as the young defender was tasked with settling in in a new country and at a team where the turnover was substantial. The new manager had stepped in to replace Xabi Alonso and a host of star performers were departing or already left – including Florian Wirtz, key squad members, Jeremie Frimpong, Amine Adli, experienced professionals, Lukas Hradecky and Jonathan Tah.

Bundesliga Debut

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on August 23rd at their home ground to Hoffenheim and the central defender found the net after five minutes, though the achievement was overshadowed by tragedy. His primary thought was Diogo Jota, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah performed his teammate's signature celebration as a tribute.

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

Early Challenges

The defender could have been forgiven for wondering what he had committed to at Leverkusen. After the encouraging beginning in their opening league fixture, they succumbed to a 2-1 defeat and the next match on August 30th was just as bad. Ten Hag's team threw away 2-0 and 3-1 leads to draw 3-3 at 10-man Werder Bremen, the equaliser coming in stoppage time. It was no longer his responsibility for very long. He was sacked on 1 September.

Maintaining Composure

Quansah doesn't appear to be the type to fret. If composure defines his game, it was evident during the conversation he participated in after being selected for England for the international friendly against Wales and the qualifying match against Latvia.

Quansah has remained focused under the new Leverkusen manager, the Danish tactician, and continued to do what he originally planned to do at the club – compete. Hjulmand has established consistency. His squad have three wins and one draw in their domestic campaign along with draws in each of their European matches. But there is a more significant number that encourages Quansah, even bringing a sense of justification. It is the one which shows he has been ever-present of the club's campaign.

International Recognition

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

Yet to earn his international debut, Quansah must have done something right in practice sessions and within the squad environment because he was selected at the outset in the manager's squad selection for the upcoming matches, essentially as a additional defensive option with the regular starter returning. The dream is a first appearance. It is another thing he would certainly handle with ease.

Career Choices

"With my new club, the club were keen on signing me for a while and that's not just from the coach," Quansah explains. "Their interest existed before he got appointed. So knowing it was a type of internal decision and things would remain consistent with which manager was to come in ... it was easy for me to choose this path.

"There were a lot of players leaving and it's consistently challenging when you lose key players. It has been difficult to establish new hierarchies but the outcomes we have had [under Hjulmand] demonstrate that we have developed a good squad with quality players. It is going to take time to build and we are not where we want to be. But if we are getting results and avoiding defeats that is a solid foundation to begin from."

Leaving Childhood Club

It had to have been a difficult separation for Quansah to depart from 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 their London rivals in the previous season when he came on as an extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also a part of 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 25 occasions in the league, his limited playing time falling short compared to his statistics from 2023‑24 when he featured more regularly.

Career Development

"I consistently developed off top-level professionals around me at my former club and it's been so good 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 where I want to be.

"I just wanted 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 keep pushing and pushing."

Foundation Building

Quansah recalls his loan to League One Bristol Rovers in the second-half of 2022-23 where he debuted at professional level – multiple matches, to be exact. There were "numerous wake-up calls", he says with a smile, starting with his debut; a 5-1 defeat at Morecambe.

"That was a true eye-opener," Quansah says. "It proved a really valuable chapter in my development because I aimed to take the next step to playing first-team football. Each match I learned something new. That's where I knew how crucial practical knowledge and match practice was. You could suggest it influenced my choice in the summer."