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"To an observer, it seems crazy," Jarell Quansah remarks, as he looks back 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 claiming victory in the U21 European Championship with England at the conclusion of June, Quansah opted to depart from Liverpool, to join the Bundesliga side in a multi-million pound transfer.

The significant transfer sum brought big pressure as the 22-year-old was tasked with settling in in a foreign land and at a team where the churn was dramatic. The new manager had taken over to succeed Xabi Alonso and a host of star performers were departing or already left – chief among them Florian Wirtz, key squad members, influential figures, prominent athletes, Granit Xhaka, established players and team leaders.

League Introduction

Quansah's first league appearance came on August 23rd at home to their opponents and the central defender scored after five minutes, albeit the achievement was overshadowed by sadness. All he could think about was Diogo Jota, who was killed in a car accident. Quansah performed his teammate's signature celebration as a mark of respect.

"Scoring on your Bundesliga debut, in front of home fans, after the opening moments, is certainly a rollercoaster," Quansah says. "But my overwhelming feeling was that it was a homage to Diogo."

Initial Struggles

The player could have been forgiven for wondering what he had committed to at the German club. After the encouraging beginning in their opening league fixture, they succumbed to a 2-1 defeat and the following game on August 30th was equally disappointing. Ten Hag's team threw away comfortable advantages to finish level at their reduced opponents, the equaliser coming in stoppage time. It was not Ten Hag's team for very long. He was sacked on September 1st.

Maintaining Composure

Quansah doesn't appear to be the kind to worry. If calmness characterizes his playing style, it was on show during the conversation he participated in after being selected for England for the international friendly against Wales and the World Cup qualifier against Latvia.

Quansah has kept his head down under the current coach, the Danish tactician, and continued to do what he always intended to do at the team – compete. Hjulmand has established consistency. His team have three wins and one draw in four league matches along with draws in each of their European matches. But there is a broader statistic that motivates the player, even bringing a sense of justification. It is the fact that demonstrates he has played every minute of the club's campaign.

National Team Attention

It is one that the England head coach has observed. The England head coach was a admirer last season, selecting Quansah when he announced his initial selection. After omitting him in the summer so that Quansah could focus 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 around the camp because he was named at the outset in Tuchel's squad selection for Wales and Latvia, effectively as a fifth centre-back with Stones fit again. The aspiration is a debut. It is one more milestone he would surely take in his stride.

Decision Making

"At Leverkusen, the team were keen on signing me for a while and that's not just from the coach," Quansah says. "They were interested prior to his arrival. So understanding it was a sort of internal decision and things would remain consistent with which manager was to come in ... it was straightforward for me to make that decision.

"We had a lot of players leaving and it's always tough when you lose key players. It has been tough to establish new hierarchies but the outcomes we have had recently demonstrate that we have got a competitive team with quality players. It is requiring patience to develop and we are still progressing. But if we are achieving positive outcomes and not losing that is a solid foundation to start."

Leaving Childhood Club

It had to have been a difficult separation for Quansah to leave 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 Chelsea in 2023‑24 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 most of that achievement was not the perspective he would have preferred. He was an non-playing reserve on 25 occasions in the competition, his four starts and nine appearances comparing unfavourably with his numbers from the prior season when he started nine games.

Professional Growth

"I consistently developed off top-level professionals around me at Liverpool and it's been incredibly beneficial for my professional development," he says. "However, for a developing defender, you need games and I'm going to be needing hundreds of games to be at my desired level.

"My primary desire was regular playing opportunities and when you are at a top-level club, it's not promised because there are world-class players all over the pitch. I wanted somewhere where they can have confidence that I might make mistakes at times but they will see beyond that and see I can continue developing and improving."

Foundation Building

Quansah remembers his loan to the lower division club in the second-half of 2022-23 where he made his first senior appearances – multiple matches, to be exact. There were "numerous wake-up calls", he notes with a smile, starting 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 wanted to make the next step to playing first-team football. Every game I gained fresh insights. That's where I knew how crucial practical knowledge and playing games was. You could suggest it influenced my choice in the summer."