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"To an observer, it seems crazy," Jarell Quansah says, as he looks back on his recent summer, when rapid transformation felt like a constant. "But it is one of them ... football is a crazy game."

A Quick Recap

Days after claiming victory in the U21 European Championship with England at the end of June, Quansah decided to leave his childhood club, to go to Bayer Leverkusen in a £30m deal.

The significant transfer sum brought big pressure as the 22-year-old was charged with finding his feet in a foreign land and at a team where the turnover was substantial. Erik ten Hag had stepped in 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, Amine Adli, experienced professionals, Lukas Hradecky and team leaders.

Bundesliga Debut

Quansah's first league appearance came on 23 August at home to their opponents and the centre-half found the net after the opening minutes, albeit the goal was overshadowed by tragedy. All he could think about was his former Liverpool teammate, who was killed in a car accident. Quansah executed Jota's gamer celebration as a mark of respect.

"Scoring on your first Bundesliga match, in front of home fans, after the opening moments, is definitely a rollercoaster," Quansah states. "However, my dominant emotion was that it was a tribute to Diogo."

Early Challenges

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 succumbed to a narrow loss and the following game on 30 August was just as bad. Ten Hag's team squandered 2-0 and 3-1 leads to finish level 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.

Staying Focused

Quansah doesn't appear to be the kind to worry. If calmness defines his game, it was evident during the conversation he gave after being selected for England for the Wembley friendly against Wales and the World Cup qualifier against Latvia.

Quansah has remained focused under the new Leverkusen manager, Kasper Hjulmand, and persisted in doing what he originally planned to do at the club – compete. Hjulmand has established consistency. His squad have positive results in their domestic campaign along with ties in each of their Champions League ties. 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.

International Recognition

It is something that the England head coach has noted. The national team manager was a fan last season, including him when he named his first squad. After leaving him out in June so that Quansah could concentrate on the youth tournament, he provided him with a last-minute inclusion in September when John Stones was forced to withdraw.

Still to win his international debut, Quansah must have done something right in practice sessions and within the squad environment because he was selected at the beginning in the manager's 24‑man group for Wales and Latvia, effectively as a fifth centre-back with Stones fit again. The dream is a first appearance. It is one more milestone he would surely take in his stride.

Decision Making

"With my new club, the club were keen on signing me for a while and that's not just from the coach," Quansah explains. "Their interest existed before he got appointed. So understanding it was a type of internal decision and nothing would change with whatever coach was to come in ... it was straightforward for me to choose this path.

"We had a numerous squad members leaving and it's always tough when you see important figures leave. It has been difficult to build the leadership groups but the outcomes we have had [under Hjulmand] demonstrate that we have developed a good squad with talented individuals. It is requiring patience to develop 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 depart from Liverpool, his club from the age of five, where he experienced so many memorable moments – such as the league cup triumph over their London rivals in the previous season when he was introduced as an extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also a part of last season's Premier League title triumph. Yet his perspective of most of that achievement was not the perspective he would have preferred. He was an non-playing reserve on multiple matches in the competition, his four starts and nine appearances comparing unfavourably with his statistics from the prior season when he started nine games.

Professional Growth

"I consistently developed off some of the best players around me at my former club and it's been so good for my career," he says. "But as a young centre-back, you need games and I'm going to be needing extensive playing time to be at my desired level.

"I just wanted regular playing opportunities and when you are at a team like Liverpool, it's not guaranteed because there are world-class players all over the pitch. I wanted an environment where they can have confidence that I could errors at certain moments but they will see beyond that and recognize I can continue developing and pushing."

Foundation Building

Quansah remembers his temporary transfer 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 "numerous wake-up calls", he says with a grin, beginning with his debut; a 5-1 defeat at their opponents.

"That was a true eye-opener," Quansah reflects. "It proved a really valuable part of my career because I aimed to take the subsequent progression to regular senior competition. Each match I gained fresh insights. That's when I understood how valuable experience and playing games was. You could suggest it informed my decision in the summer."