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"From the outside, it seems crazy," Jarell Quansah remarks, as he looks back on his summer just gone, when rapid transformation felt like a constant. "However, that's just how it goes ... football is a unpredictable game."

A Quick Recap

Days after claiming victory in the U21 European Championship with the English national team at the end of June, Quansah decided to leave his childhood club, to join the Bundesliga side in a multi-million pound transfer.

The big fee equalled big pressure as the young defender was charged with settling in in a foreign land and at a team where the churn was dramatic. The new manager had taken over to replace the previous coach and a host of key players were departing or already left – including Florian Wirtz, Piero Hincapié, Jeremie Frimpong, Amine Adli, experienced professionals, established players and Jonathan Tah.

Bundesliga Debut

Quansah's first league appearance came on 23 August at their home ground to their opponents and the centre-half found the net after the opening minutes, albeit the achievement was overshadowed by sadness. His primary thought was his former Liverpool teammate, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah performed his teammate's signature celebration as a mark of respect.

"Scoring on your first Bundesliga match, at home, after the opening moments, is definitely a whirlwind," Quansah says. "But my overwhelming feeling was that it was a tribute to Diogo."

Initial Struggles

The defender could have been excused for questioning what he had committed to at the German club. From the promising start in their first league game, they succumbed to a narrow loss and the next match on 30 August was just as bad. Ten Hag's team squandered comfortable advantages to finish level at their reduced opponents, the tying goal coming in added time. It was not Ten Hag's team for very long. He was sacked on September 1st.

Staying Focused

Quansah does not come across as the kind to worry. If calmness characterizes his playing style, it was evident during the interview he gave after joining the national team for the international friendly against their rivals and the World Cup qualifier against their next opponents.

Quansah has remained focused under the current coach, the Danish tactician, and continued to do what he originally planned to do at the club – compete. Hjulmand has established consistency. 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 more significant number that encourages Quansah, even bringing a measure of vindication. It is the one which shows he has been ever-present of the team's season.

National Team Attention

It is something that the England head coach has observed. The national team manager was a fan previously, including him when he announced his initial selection. After omitting him in June so that Quansah could concentrate on the youth tournament, he provided him with a late call-up in the autumn when the experienced defender was forced to withdraw.

Yet to earn his international debut, Quansah must have done something right in training and within the squad environment because he was named at the outset in the manager's 24‑man group for the upcoming matches, effectively as a additional defensive option with the regular starter returning. The aspiration is a first appearance. It is one more milestone he would surely handle with ease.

Decision Making

"At Leverkusen, the club were keen on signing me for a considerable time and that's not just from the coach," Quansah explains. "Their interest existed prior to his arrival. So understanding it was a sort of internal decision and things would remain consistent with whatever coach was to come in ... it was easy for me to choose this path.

"There were a lot of players departing and it's consistently challenging when you see important figures leave. It has been tough to establish new hierarchies but the outcomes we have had recently demonstrate that we have got 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 achieving positive outcomes and avoiding defeats that is a solid foundation to begin from."

Liverpool Departure

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 enjoyed so many memorable moments – such as the league cup triumph over Chelsea in 2023‑24 when he was introduced as an extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also involved in last season's Premier League title triumph. Yet his view of much of that was not the perspective he would have chosen. He was an non-playing reserve on multiple matches in the league, his limited playing time comparing unfavourably with his numbers from the prior season when he started nine games.

Career Development

"I consistently developed off some of the best players around me at Liverpool and it's been incredibly beneficial for my career," he says. "However, for a developing defender, you require match experience and I'm going to be needing hundreds of games to be at my desired level.

"I just wanted game time 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 an environment where they can trust that I could errors at times but they will see beyond that and see I can keep pushing and pushing."

Early Experience

Quansah recalls his loan to the lower division club in the later part of that season where he debuted at professional level – multiple matches, to be precise. There were "numerous wake-up calls", he says with a smile, beginning with his first game; a heavy loss 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 gained fresh insights. That's where I understood how crucial experience and playing games was. You could suggest it influenced my choice in the off-season."