Leverkusen's Jarell Quansah Keeps Calm and Carries On in His Steady Rise to Football Fame

"From the outside, it seems crazy," Jarell Quansah says, as he reflects on his summer just gone, when dizzying change felt like a constant. "But it is one of them ... football is a unpredictable game."

A Quick Recap

Shortly after claiming victory in 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 £30m deal.

The big fee equalled big pressure as the young defender was tasked with settling in in a new country and at a team where the turnover was dramatic. Erik ten Hag had taken over to replace Xabi Alonso and a host of key players were gone or going – including several high-profile names, Piero Hincapié, influential figures, Amine Adli, experienced professionals, Lukas Hradecky and team leaders.

Bundesliga Debut

Quansah's first league appearance came on 23 August at their home ground to their opponents and the centre-half scored after five minutes, albeit the achievement was overshadowed by sadness. All he could think about was Diogo Jota, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah executed Jota's gamer celebration as a mark of respect.

"To have a goal on your first Bundesliga match, in front of home fans, after five minutes, is definitely a whirlwind," Quansah states. "However, my dominant emotion was that it was a homage 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 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 comfortable advantages to draw 3-3 at 10-man Werder Bremen, the tying goal coming in added time. It was not Ten Hag's team for much longer. He was sacked on September 1st.

Maintaining Composure

Quansah doesn't appear to be the type to fret. If calmness defines his game, it was evident during the interview he participated in after joining the national team for the Wembley friendly against Wales and the qualifying match against Latvia.

Quansah has kept his head down under the new Leverkusen manager, the Danish tactician, and persisted in doing what he always intended to do at the team – play. Hjulmand has established consistency. His squad have three wins and one draw in four league matches along with draws 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 team's season.

International Recognition

It is one that Thomas Tuchel 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 focus on the youth tournament, he provided him with a late call-up in the autumn when the experienced defender was forced to withdraw.

Still to win his international debut, Quansah must have impressed sufficiently in practice sessions and within the squad environment because he was selected at the outset in Tuchel's 24‑man group for the upcoming matches, essentially as a additional defensive option with Stones fit again. The dream is a debut. It is one more milestone he would surely take in his stride.

Decision Making

"At Leverkusen, the club were interested in me for a considerable time and that's not just from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah says. "Their interest existed before he got appointed. So knowing it was a type of internal decision and nothing would change with whatever coach was to take over ... it was straightforward for me to choose this path.

"There were a numerous squad members departing and it's always tough when you lose key players. It has been difficult to build the leadership groups but the results we have had [under Hjulmand] show that we have got a good squad with talented individuals. It is requiring patience to build and we are not where we want to be. But if we are achieving positive outcomes and avoiding defeats that is a good place to begin from."

Liverpool Departure

It had to have been a difficult separation for Quansah to depart from his long-time club, his team since childhood, where he experienced so many significant occasions – such as the league cup triumph over Chelsea in the previous season when he was introduced as an extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also involved in last season's Premier League title triumph. Yet his perspective 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 statistics from 2023‑24 when he started nine games.

Career Development

"I consistently developed off some of the best players around me at my former club and it's been incredibly beneficial for my professional development," he says. "But as a young centre-back, you require match experience and I'm will require extensive playing time to be where I want to be.

"I just wanted game time and when you are at a team like Liverpool, it's not promised because there are elite performers throughout the squad. I wanted somewhere where they can trust that I could errors at times but they will look under that and see I can keep pushing and improving."

Foundation Building

Quansah recalls his temporary transfer to the lower division club 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 first game; a 5-1 defeat at Morecambe.

"That was a true eye-opener," Quansah says. "It was a really valuable part of my career because I aimed to take the next step to regular senior competition. Each match I gained fresh insights. That's where I knew how valuable experience and match practice was. You could say it informed my choice in the summer."