🔗 Share this article

"To an observer, it seems insane," Jarell Quansah says, as he looks back on his recent summer, when dizzying change felt like a constant. "However, that's just how it goes ... football is a unpredictable game."

A Quick Recap

Shortly after claiming victory in the European Under-21 Championship with England at the end of June, Quansah decided to leave Liverpool, to join the Bundesliga side in a multi-million pound transfer.

The significant transfer sum equalled high expectations as the 22-year-old was tasked with finding his feet in a foreign land and at a club where the churn was dramatic. Erik ten Hag had stepped in to replace the previous coach and a host of key players were departing or already left – including Florian Wirtz, Piero Hincapié, influential figures, Amine Adli, experienced professionals, established players and team leaders.

League Introduction

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on August 23rd at home to Hoffenheim and the central defender found the net after the opening minutes, though the achievement was overshadowed by sadness. All he could think about was his former Liverpool teammate, who was killed in a car accident. Quansah executed his teammate's signature celebration as a tribute.

"Scoring on your first Bundesliga match, at home, after the opening moments, is definitely a whirlwind," Quansah says. "However, my dominant emotion was that it was a homage to Diogo."

Early Challenges

The player 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 following game on August 30th was just as bad. The squad threw away comfortable advantages to draw 3-3 at 10-man Werder Bremen, the tying goal coming in stoppage time. It was no longer his responsibility for much longer. His dismissal came on September 1st.

Maintaining Composure

Quansah doesn't appear to be the kind to worry. If calmness characterizes his playing style, it was evident during the interview he gave after being selected for the national team for the international friendly against their rivals and the qualifying match against Latvia.

Quansah has kept his head down under the new Leverkusen manager, the Danish tactician, and continued to do what he originally planned to do at the team – compete. Hjulmand has brought stability. His squad have three wins and one draw in four league matches along with ties in each of their European matches. But there is a more significant number 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.

International Recognition

It is one that the England head coach has noted. The England head coach was a fan last season, including him when he named his first squad. After omitting him in the summer so that Quansah could focus on the Under-21 European Championship, he gave him a last-minute inclusion in the autumn when the experienced defender was forced to withdraw.

Yet to earn his international debut, Quansah must have impressed sufficiently in training and within the squad environment because he was named at the beginning 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 another thing he would certainly handle with ease.

Decision Making

"At Leverkusen, the team were interested in me for a while and that's not only from the coach," Quansah explains. "They were interested prior to his arrival. So knowing it was a type of internal decision and nothing would change with whatever coach was to take over ... it was easy for me to choose this path.

"There were a lot of players leaving and it's always tough when you see important figures leave. It has been tough to build the leadership groups but the outcomes we have had [under Hjulmand] demonstrate that we have developed a competitive team with quality players. It is going to take time to develop and we are not where we want to be. But if we are getting results and avoiding defeats that is a solid foundation to start."

Liverpool Departure

It had to have been a wrench for Quansah to depart from Liverpool, his team since childhood, where he experienced so many significant occasions – such as the Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea in 2023‑24 when he came on as an extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also a part of last season's Premier League title triumph. Yet his view of most of that achievement was not the perspective he would have preferred. He was an unused substitute on 25 occasions in the league, his limited playing time falling short compared to his numbers from the prior season 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 so good for my career," he comments. "But as a young centre-back, you require match experience and I'm will require hundreds of games 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 guaranteed because there are elite performers all over the pitch. I wanted an environment where they can trust that I might make mistakes at certain moments but they will see beyond that and recognize I can continue developing and improving."

Early Experience

Quansah remembers his loan to the lower division club in the second-half of 2022-23 where he made his first senior appearances – 16 of them, to be exact. There were "multiple reality checks", he says with a grin, beginning with his first game; a heavy loss at their opponents.

"That represented a genuine revelation," Quansah says. "It proved a really valuable chapter in my development because I wanted to make the subsequent progression to regular senior competition. Every game I learned something new. That's where I knew how valuable practical knowledge and match practice was. You could say it informed my choice in the off-season."