Bayer Leverkusen's Jarell Quansah Keeps Calm and Continues Onward in His Steady Rise to Football Fame

"To an observer, it appears crazy," the young defender remarks, as he looks back on his recent summer, when dizzying change felt like a constant. "But it is one of them ... football is a unpredictable game."

A Brief Summary

Shortly after winning the U21 European Championship with the English national team at the end of June, Quansah opted to depart from Liverpool, to go to the Bundesliga side in a £30m deal.

The significant transfer sum equalled high expectations as the 22-year-old was tasked with settling in in a new country and at a club where the churn was dramatic. The new manager had taken over to replace Xabi Alonso and a host of star performers were departing or already left – including several high-profile names, Piero Hincapié, influential figures, Amine Adli, experienced professionals, Lukas Hradecky and Jonathan Tah.

League Introduction

Quansah's first league appearance came on August 23rd at their home ground to Hoffenheim and the central defender found the net after the opening minutes, albeit the achievement was overshadowed by tragedy. His primary thought was Diogo Jota, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah performed Jota's gamer celebration as a tribute.

"Scoring on your Bundesliga debut, in front of home fans, 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 forgiven for wondering what he had signed up for at Leverkusen. After the encouraging beginning in their opening league fixture, they fell to a 2-1 defeat and the following game on 30 August was equally disappointing. Ten Hag's team squandered 2-0 and 3-1 leads to draw 3-3 at their reduced opponents, the equaliser coming in added time. It was no longer his responsibility for very long. He was sacked on September 1st.

Staying Focused

Quansah doesn't appear to be the type to fret. If calmness defines his game, it was evident during the interview he gave after joining the national team for the international friendly against their rivals and the qualifying match against their next opponents.

Quansah has remained focused under the current coach, Kasper Hjulmand, and persisted in doing what he always intended to do at the team – play. Hjulmand has brought stability. His team have three wins and one draw in four league matches along with ties in each of their Champions League ties. But there is a more significant number 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.

International Recognition

It is one that the England head coach has noted. The national team manager was a admirer last season, selecting Quansah when he announced his initial selection. After omitting him in June so that Quansah could focus on the Under-21 European Championship, 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 done something right in practice sessions and within the squad environment because he was selected at the outset in the manager's 24‑man group for the upcoming matches, essentially as a additional defensive option with the regular starter returning. The aspiration is a debut. It is another thing he would surely take in his stride.

Decision Making

"At Leverkusen, the team were keen on signing me for a considerable time and that's not only from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah explains. "Their interest existed before he got appointed. So knowing it was a type of internal decision and nothing would change with which manager 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 difficult to establish new hierarchies but the results we have had [under Hjulmand] show that we have developed a good squad with talented individuals. It is going to take time to build and we are still progressing. But if we are achieving positive outcomes and not losing that is a solid foundation to begin from."

Leaving Childhood Club

It had to have been a wrench for Quansah to leave his long-time club, his team since childhood, where he enjoyed so many significant occasions – such as the Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea in 2023‑24 when he was introduced as an extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also involved in last season's domestic championship success. Yet his view of most of that achievement was not the one he would have preferred. He was an unused substitute on 25 occasions in the league, his four starts and nine appearances falling short compared to his statistics from 2023‑24 when he started nine games.

Career Development

"I've always learned off some of the best players around me at my former club and it's been so good for my professional development," he says. "However, for a developing defender, you need games and I'm will require extensive playing time to be where I want to be.

"My primary desire was game time and when you are at a top-level club, it's not promised because there are world-class players throughout the squad. I wanted somewhere where they can have confidence that I might make mistakes at times but they will look under that and see I can continue developing and pushing."

Early Experience

Quansah remembers his loan to the lower division club in the second-half of 2022-23 where he debuted at professional level – 16 of them, to be exact. There were "multiple reality checks", he says with a smile, beginning with his debut; a 5-1 defeat at Morecambe.

"That was a true eye-opener," Quansah reflects. "It proved a extremely important chapter in my development because I wanted to make the next step to playing first-team football. Each match I gained fresh insights. That's where I understood how valuable practical knowledge and match practice was. You could say it informed my choice in the off-season."