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

A Brief Summary

Days after winning the U21 European Championship with the English national team at the conclusion of June, Quansah decided to leave his childhood club, to go to 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 turnover was substantial. Erik ten Hag had stepped in to replace the previous coach and a number of key players were gone or going – including several high-profile names, key squad members, Jeremie Frimpong, prominent athletes, Granit Xhaka, Lukas Hradecky and team leaders.

League Introduction

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on August 23rd at home to Hoffenheim and the central defender scored after five minutes, though the goal was overshadowed by tragedy. His primary thought was Diogo Jota, who was killed in a car accident. Quansah performed Jota's gamer celebration as a tribute.

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

Initial Struggles

The player could have been forgiven for wondering what he had committed to at Leverkusen. From the promising start in their opening league fixture, they fell to a narrow loss and the next match on August 30th was just as bad. The squad threw away 2-0 and 3-1 leads to finish level at their reduced opponents, the tying goal coming in added time. It was no longer his responsibility for very long. His dismissal came on September 1st.

Maintaining Composure

Quansah does not come across as the type to fret. If calmness defines his game, 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 their next opponents.

Quansah has remained focused under the new Leverkusen manager, the Danish tactician, and persisted in doing what he originally planned to do at the team – compete. Hjulmand has established consistency. His team have positive results in four league matches along with draws 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 team's season.

International Recognition

It is one that Thomas Tuchel has noted. The England head coach was a fan previously, including him when he named his first squad. After omitting him in June so that Quansah could focus on the youth tournament, he provided him with a last-minute inclusion in the autumn when John Stones was forced to withdraw.

Yet to earn his international debut, Quansah must have impressed sufficiently in training and around the camp because he was named at the beginning in Tuchel's 24‑man group for the upcoming matches, effectively as a additional defensive option with Stones fit again. The dream is a first appearance. It is one more milestone he would surely handle with ease.

Career Choices

"At Leverkusen, the team were keen on signing me for a considerable time and that's not just from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah explains. "Their interest existed before he got appointed. So knowing it was a sort of organizational choice and things would remain consistent with whatever coach was to take over ... it was easy for me to choose this path.

"There were a numerous squad members departing and it's consistently challenging when you see important figures leave. It has been tough to establish new hierarchies but the results we have had recently 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 achieving positive outcomes and not losing that is a solid foundation to begin from."

Leaving Childhood Club

It had to have been a wrench for Quansah to leave Liverpool, his team since childhood, where he experienced so many memorable moments – such as the league cup triumph over Chelsea in the previous season when he came on as an extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also a part of the previous campaign's Premier League title triumph. Yet his perspective of most of that achievement was not the perspective he would have chosen. He was an unused substitute on 25 occasions in the league, his limited playing time falling short compared to his statistics 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. "But as a young centre-back, you need games and I'm will require extensive playing time to be where I want to be.

"My primary desire was regular playing opportunities and when you are at a top-level club, it's not guaranteed because there are elite performers throughout the squad. 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."

Early Experience

Quansah remembers his loan to League One Bristol Rovers in the later part of that season where he made his first senior appearances – multiple matches, to be exact. There were "multiple reality checks", he notes with a smile, starting with his debut; a heavy loss at their opponents.

"That was a genuine revelation," Quansah says. "It was a extremely important chapter in my development because I wanted to make the next step to regular senior competition. Each match I learned something new. That's where I understood how crucial practical knowledge and match practice was. You could say it influenced my choice in the off-season."