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"To an observer, it appears insane," Jarell Quansah says, as he reflects on his summer just gone, when rapid transformation felt like a constant. "However, that's just how it goes ... football is a crazy game."

A Quick Recap

Days after claiming victory in the U21 European Championship with England at the conclusion of June, Quansah opted to depart from Liverpool, to go to the Bundesliga side in a £30m deal.

The significant transfer sum equalled high expectations as the young defender was charged with finding his feet in a foreign land and at a club where the churn was substantial. Erik ten Hag had stepped in to succeed Xabi Alonso and a host of key players were gone or going – including Florian Wirtz, Piero Hincapié, influential figures, prominent athletes, Granit Xhaka, established players and team leaders.

Bundesliga Debut

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on 23 August at their home ground to their opponents and the central defender found the net after five minutes, albeit the goal was undercut by tragedy. His primary thought was his former Liverpool teammate, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah executed Jota's gamer celebration as a mark of respect.

"Scoring on your first Bundesliga match, in front of home fans, after five minutes, is definitely a rollercoaster," Quansah states. "But my overwhelming feeling was that it was a homage to Diogo."

Initial Struggles

The defender could have been forgiven for wondering what he had committed to at Leverkusen. From the promising start in their first league game, they fell to a narrow loss and the following game on 30 August was just as bad. The squad squandered comfortable advantages to finish level at 10-man Werder Bremen, the equaliser coming in stoppage time. It was no longer his responsibility for very long. His dismissal came on 1 September.

Staying Focused

Quansah does not come across as the kind to worry. If composure defines his game, it was evident during the conversation he participated in after joining the national team for the international friendly against Wales and the qualifying match against their next opponents.

Quansah has kept his head down under the current coach, the Danish tactician, and persisted in doing what he originally planned to do at the club – play. The new manager has established consistency. His team have positive results in their domestic campaign along with ties in each of their European matches. But there is a broader statistic that motivates the player, even bringing a measure of vindication. It is the one which shows he has played every minute of the club's campaign.

National Team Attention

It is something that Thomas Tuchel has observed. The England head coach was a admirer previously, including him when he announced his initial selection. After omitting him in the summer so that Quansah could concentrate on the Under-21 European Championship, he gave him a late call-up in September when the experienced defender was forced to withdraw.

Yet to earn his first cap, Quansah must have done something right in practice sessions and around the camp because he was selected at the beginning in Tuchel's squad selection for Wales and Latvia, essentially as a additional defensive option with the regular starter returning. The aspiration is a first appearance. It is another thing he would surely handle with ease.

Decision Making

"With my new club, the team were interested in me for a while and that's not only from the coach," Quansah says. "They were interested before he got appointed. So knowing it was a sort of internal decision and nothing would change with whatever coach was to come in ... it was easy for me to make that decision.

"We had a lot of players departing and it's always tough when you see important figures leave. It has been tough to establish new hierarchies but the results we have had [under Hjulmand] demonstrate that we have developed a good squad 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 start."

Leaving Childhood Club

It had to have been a difficult separation for Quansah to leave Liverpool, his team since childhood, where he experienced so many memorable moments – such as the Carabao Cup final victory over their London rivals in 2023‑24 when he was introduced as an late replacement.

Quansah was also involved in the previous campaign's domestic championship success. Yet his perspective 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 four starts and nine appearances falling short compared to his statistics from 2023‑24 when he started nine games.

Professional Growth

"I've always learned off some of the best players 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 extensive playing time to be where I want to be.

"My primary desire was regular playing opportunities and when you are at a team like Liverpool, it's not promised because there are elite performers throughout the squad. I wanted an environment where they can have confidence that I could errors at times but they will see beyond that and recognize I can continue developing and pushing."

Foundation Building

Quansah remembers his loan to the lower division club 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 notes with a smile, beginning with his debut; a 5-1 defeat at their opponents.

"That represented a genuine revelation," Quansah reflects. "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 gained fresh insights. That's where I knew how valuable experience and match practice was. You could say it influenced my choice in the off-season."