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"From the outside, it appears crazy," Jarell Quansah says, 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 the English national team at the end of June, Quansah decided to leave Liverpool, to join Bayer Leverkusen in a £30m deal.

The significant transfer sum brought high expectations as the 22-year-old was charged with settling in in a new country and at a team where the churn was dramatic. The new manager had taken over to replace the previous coach and a host of star performers were departing or already left – chief among them several high-profile names, key squad members, Jeremie Frimpong, Amine Adli, experienced professionals, established players and team leaders.

Bundesliga Debut

Quansah's first league appearance came on August 23rd at their home ground to Hoffenheim and the centre-half found the net after the opening minutes, albeit the goal was undercut by tragedy. All he could think about was Diogo Jota, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah executed Jota's gamer celebration as a mark of respect.

"Scoring on your Bundesliga debut, in front of home fans, after the opening moments, is definitely a whirlwind," Quansah states. "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 the German club. After the encouraging beginning in their first league game, they fell to a narrow loss and the next match on August 30th was equally disappointing. The squad threw away comfortable advantages to draw 3-3 at 10-man Werder Bremen, the equaliser coming in added time. It was not Ten Hag's team for much longer. He was sacked on 1 September.

Maintaining Composure

Quansah does not come across as the type to fret. If calmness defines his game, it was on show during the interview he participated in after joining England for the international friendly against Wales 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 originally planned to do at the team – play. The new manager has brought stability. His team have three wins and one draw in their domestic campaign along with ties in each of their European matches. But there is a broader statistic that encourages Quansah, even bringing a sense of justification. It is the fact that demonstrates he has been ever-present of the club's campaign.

International Recognition

It is one that the England head coach has noted. The national team manager was a admirer previously, selecting Quansah when he announced his initial selection. After leaving him out in the summer so that Quansah could focus on the Under-21 European Championship, he gave him a last-minute inclusion in September when John Stones was forced to withdraw.

Still to win his international debut, Quansah must have done something right in practice sessions and within the squad environment because he was selected at the beginning in Tuchel's 24‑man group for the upcoming matches, essentially as a additional defensive option with the regular starter returning. The aspiration is a debut. It is another thing he would surely handle with ease.

Decision Making

"With my new club, the club were interested in me for a considerable time and that's not only from the coach," Quansah says. "Their interest existed prior to his arrival. So understanding it was a sort of organizational choice and things would remain consistent with which manager was to come in ... it was straightforward for me to make that decision.

"There were a numerous squad members departing and it's always tough when you lose key players. It has been tough to establish new hierarchies but the results we have had [under Hjulmand] show that we have developed a good squad 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 begin from."

Liverpool Departure

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 enjoyed 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 last season's Premier League title triumph. Yet his perspective of most of that achievement was not the perspective he would have preferred. He was an non-playing reserve on multiple matches in the competition, his limited playing time falling short compared to his numbers from 2023‑24 when he featured more regularly.

Professional Growth

"I've always learned off some of the best players around me at my former club and it's been so good for my professional development," he says. "But as a young centre-back, you require match experience and I'm will require extensive playing time to be at my desired level.

"I just wanted regular playing opportunities and when you are at a team like Liverpool, it's not promised because there are elite performers all over the pitch. I wanted somewhere where they can have confidence that I could errors at times but they will look under that and recognize I can keep pushing and improving."

Foundation Building

Quansah recalls his loan to League One Bristol Rovers in the second-half of 2022-23 where he debuted at professional level – 16 of them, to be precise. There were "numerous wake-up calls", he notes with a grin, beginning with his debut; a 5-1 defeat at Morecambe.

"That represented a genuine revelation," Quansah says. "It was a extremely important part of my career because I wanted to make the subsequent progression to regular senior competition. Each match I gained fresh insights. That's when I understood how crucial experience and playing games was. You could say it influenced my decision in the off-season."