Leverkusen's Jarell Quansah Remains Composed and Continues Onward in His Steady Rise to Football Fame

"From the outside, it appears insane," the young defender says, as he reflects on his summer just gone, when rapid transformation 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 the English national team at the end of June, Quansah opted to depart from Liverpool, to join the Bundesliga side in a multi-million pound transfer.

The significant transfer sum equalled big pressure as the young defender was charged with finding his feet in a new country and at a club where the churn was dramatic. Erik ten Hag had stepped in to replace Xabi Alonso and a host of star performers were gone or going – including Florian Wirtz, Piero Hincapié, Jeremie Frimpong, Amine Adli, experienced professionals, Lukas Hradecky and Jonathan Tah.

Bundesliga Debut

Quansah's first league appearance came on August 23rd at their home ground to their opponents and the centre-half scored after five minutes, albeit the goal was overshadowed by sadness. All he could think about was his former Liverpool teammate, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah performed his teammate's signature celebration as a tribute.

"Scoring on your Bundesliga debut, at home, after the opening moments, is definitely a rollercoaster," Quansah says. "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 the German club. After the encouraging beginning in their opening league fixture, they succumbed to a narrow loss and the following game on August 30th was equally disappointing. The squad threw away comfortable advantages to draw 3-3 at their reduced opponents, the equaliser coming in stoppage time. It was no longer his responsibility for much longer. He was sacked on September 1st.

Staying Focused

Quansah doesn't appear to be the kind to worry. If composure characterizes his playing style, it was evident during the interview he gave after joining England for the international friendly against Wales and the qualifying match against their next opponents.

Quansah has remained focused under the current coach, Kasper Hjulmand, and continued to do what he always intended to do at the club – compete. Hjulmand has established consistency. His team 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 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 previously, selecting Quansah when he announced his initial selection. After omitting him in June so that Quansah could concentrate on the youth tournament, he gave him a last-minute inclusion in the autumn when John Stones was compelled to pull out.

Yet to earn his first cap, Quansah must have done something right in practice sessions and within the squad environment because he was selected at the beginning in Tuchel's squad selection for the upcoming matches, essentially as a additional defensive option with Stones fit again. The dream is a first appearance. It is one more milestone he would certainly handle with ease.

Decision Making

"With my new club, the team were interested in me for a while and that's not only from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah explains. "They were interested prior to his arrival. So knowing it was a type of organizational choice and nothing would change with whatever coach was to come in ... it was easy for me to make that decision.

"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 results we have had [under Hjulmand] demonstrate that we have developed a good squad with quality players. It is requiring patience to develop and we are not where we want to be. But if we are achieving positive outcomes and not losing that is a good place to start."

Leaving Childhood Club

It had to have been a difficult separation for Quansah to leave his long-time club, his club from the age of five, where he enjoyed so many memorable moments – such as the Carabao Cup final victory over their London rivals in 2023‑24 when he came on as an late replacement.

Quansah was also a part of last season's domestic championship success. 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 four starts and nine appearances falling short compared to his statistics from 2023‑24 when he featured more regularly.

Career Development

"I've always learned off some of the best players around me at Liverpool and it's been incredibly beneficial for my career," he says. "However, for a developing defender, you require match experience and I'm going to be needing extensive playing time to be where I want to be.

"I just wanted regular playing opportunities and when you are at a team like Liverpool, it's not promised because there are elite performers throughout the squad. I wanted an environment where they can trust that I could errors at times but they will see beyond that and recognize I can keep pushing and pushing."

Foundation Building

Quansah recalls his loan to the lower division club in the second-half of 2022-23 where he made his first senior appearances – multiple matches, to be precise. There were "numerous wake-up calls", he says with a smile, beginning with his first game; a 5-1 defeat at Morecambe.

"That was a true eye-opener," Quansah reflects. "It proved a really valuable chapter in my development because I wanted to make the subsequent progression to playing first-team football. Each match I gained fresh insights. That's where I knew how valuable experience and match practice was. You could suggest it informed my decision in the off-season."