Leverkusen's Jarell Quansah Remains Composed and Continues Onward in His Gradual Ascent to Stardom

"From the outside, it appears insane," Jarell Quansah remarks, as he reflects on his recent summer, 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 conclusion of June, Quansah opted to depart from Liverpool, to go to the Bundesliga side in a £30m deal.

The big fee equalled big pressure as the 22-year-old was tasked with settling in in a new country and at a team where the turnover was dramatic. The new manager had taken over to succeed Xabi Alonso and a host of star performers were departing or already left – including several high-profile names, key squad members, Jeremie Frimpong, Amine Adli, experienced professionals, 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 the opening minutes, albeit the achievement was undercut by sadness. All he could think about was his former Liverpool teammate, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah performed Jota's gamer celebration as a mark of respect.

"To have a goal on your Bundesliga debut, at home, after five minutes, is certainly a rollercoaster," Quansah says. "However, my dominant emotion was that it was a homage to Diogo."

Early Challenges

The player could have been forgiven for wondering what he had committed to at Leverkusen. After the encouraging beginning in their first league game, they fell to a narrow loss and the following game on 30 August was just as bad. Ten Hag's team squandered comfortable advantages to draw 3-3 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.

Maintaining Composure

Quansah doesn't appear to be the kind to worry. If composure characterizes his playing style, it was on show during the conversation he gave after joining the national team for the Wembley friendly against their rivals and the World Cup qualifier against their next opponents.

Quansah has kept his head down under the current coach, Kasper Hjulmand, and persisted in doing what he always intended 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 Champions League ties. But there is a broader statistic that encourages Quansah, 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 Thomas Tuchel has noted. The national team manager 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 Under-21 European Championship, 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 practice sessions and around the camp because he was selected at the outset in Tuchel's 24‑man group for the upcoming matches, essentially as a fifth centre-back with Stones fit again. The dream is a first appearance. It is one more milestone he would certainly take in his stride.

Decision Making

"With my new club, the club were keen on signing me for a considerable time and that's not just from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah says. "They were interested before he got appointed. So knowing it was a type 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 leaving and it's always tough when you see important figures leave. It has been tough to establish new hierarchies but the outcomes we have had [under Hjulmand] show that we have got a competitive team with talented individuals. It is requiring patience to develop and we are not where we want to be. But if we are getting results and not losing that is a good place to begin from."

Leaving Childhood Club

It had to have been a difficult separation for Quansah to leave Liverpool, his team since childhood, where he enjoyed so many significant occasions – such as the Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea in the previous season when he came on as an late replacement.

Quansah was also a part of the previous campaign's domestic championship success. Yet his perspective of most of that achievement was not the one he would have chosen. He was an non-playing reserve on 25 occasions in the competition, his four starts and nine appearances falling short compared to his numbers from the prior season when he featured more regularly.

Career Development

"I've always learned off top-level professionals around me at Liverpool and it's been incredibly beneficial for my professional development," he comments. "But as a young centre-back, you need games and I'm going to be needing 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 all over the pitch. I wanted an environment where they can have confidence 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 temporary transfer to League One Bristol Rovers in the second-half of 2022-23 where he debuted at professional level – 16 of them, to be precise. There were "multiple reality checks", he says with a smile, starting with his debut; a heavy loss at Morecambe.

"That represented a genuine revelation," Quansah reflects. "It was a extremely important chapter in my development because I wanted to make the next step to playing first-team football. Every game I gained fresh insights. That's when I understood how crucial practical knowledge and match practice was. You could suggest it influenced my choice in the summer."