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

A Quick Recap

Shortly 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 £30m deal.

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 churn was substantial. The new manager had taken over to replace the previous coach and a host of key players were departing or already left – including Florian Wirtz, Piero Hincapié, Jeremie Frimpong, Amine Adli, Granit Xhaka, Lukas Hradecky and Jonathan Tah.

League Introduction

Quansah's first league appearance came on 23 August at home to Hoffenheim and the centre-half scored after five minutes, though the achievement was undercut by sadness. His primary thought was Diogo Jota, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah performed his teammate's signature celebration as a mark of respect.

"Scoring on your Bundesliga debut, at home, after five minutes, is definitely a whirlwind," Quansah says. "However, my dominant emotion was that it was a tribute to Diogo."

Initial Struggles

The player could have been excused for questioning what he had signed up for at the German club. From the promising start in their first league game, they succumbed to a narrow loss and the following game on August 30th was equally disappointing. The squad threw away 2-0 and 3-1 leads to finish level at their reduced opponents, the equaliser coming in added time. It was no longer his responsibility for much longer. He was sacked on September 1st.

Staying Focused

Quansah does not come across as the type to fret. If composure characterizes his playing style, it was evident during the interview he participated in after joining the national team for the international friendly against their rivals and the World Cup qualifier against Latvia.

Quansah has kept his head down under the current coach, Kasper Hjulmand, and continued to do what he always intended to do at the club – play. The new manager has established consistency. His squad have positive results in four league matches along with draws in each of their European matches. But there is a more significant number that encourages Quansah, even bringing a measure of vindication. It is the one which shows he has played every minute of the team's season.

National Team Attention

It is something that the England head coach has observed. The national team manager was a fan last season, including him when he named his first squad. After omitting him in the summer so that Quansah could concentrate on the youth tournament, he gave him a late call-up in the autumn when John Stones was forced to withdraw.

Still to win his first cap, Quansah must have done something right in training and around the camp because he was named at the outset in Tuchel's 24‑man group for Wales and Latvia, essentially as a fifth centre-back with Stones fit again. The aspiration is a first appearance. It is another thing he would surely handle with ease.

Decision Making

"With my new club, the team were keen on signing me for a while and that's not only from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah says. "Their interest existed prior to his arrival. So understanding it was a type of organizational choice and nothing would change with whatever coach was to take over ... it was straightforward for me to make that decision.

"We had a numerous squad members leaving and it's consistently challenging when you see important figures leave. It has been difficult to build the leadership groups but the results we have had recently demonstrate that we have got 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 avoiding defeats that is a solid foundation to begin from."

Liverpool Departure

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

Quansah was also involved in the previous campaign's Premier League title triumph. Yet his view of most of that achievement was not the perspective he would have chosen. He was an non-playing reserve on multiple matches in the competition, his limited playing time comparing unfavourably with his numbers from the prior season 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 career," he says. "However, for a developing defender, you need games and I'm going to be needing extensive playing time to be at my desired level.

"I just wanted game time and when you are at a team like Liverpool, it's not promised because there are world-class players all over the pitch. I wanted somewhere 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 recalls his temporary transfer to League One Bristol Rovers in the later part of that season where he made his first senior appearances – 16 of them, to be exact. There were "multiple reality checks", he says with a smile, starting with his debut; a 5-1 defeat at their opponents.

"That was a genuine revelation," Quansah says. "It was a extremely important part of my career because I wanted to make the next step to playing first-team football. Each match I learned something new. That's when I understood how crucial practical knowledge and match practice was. You could suggest it influenced my choice in the summer."