Bayer Leverkusen's Jarell Quansah Remains Composed and Carries On in His Gradual Ascent to Stardom

"To an observer, it seems crazy," the young defender remarks, as he reflects on his summer just gone, when rapid transformation felt like a constant. "But it is one of them ... football is a unpredictable game."

A Quick Recap

Days after winning the U21 European Championship with England at the end of June, Quansah opted to depart from Liverpool, to go to Bayer Leverkusen in a multi-million pound transfer.

The significant transfer sum brought big pressure as the young defender was tasked with finding his feet in a foreign land and at a team where the turnover was substantial. Erik ten Hag had taken over to succeed the previous coach and a number of star performers were departing or already left – including several high-profile names, key squad members, influential figures, Amine Adli, Granit Xhaka, Lukas Hradecky and Jonathan Tah.

League Introduction

Quansah's first league appearance came on 23 August at their home ground to Hoffenheim and the central defender scored after the opening minutes, though the achievement was overshadowed by sadness. All he could think about was Diogo Jota, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah performed Jota's gamer celebration as a mark of respect.

"Scoring on your Bundesliga debut, in front of home fans, after five minutes, is definitely a whirlwind," Quansah says. "But my overwhelming feeling 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. From the promising start in their opening league fixture, they fell to a 2-1 defeat and the following game on 30 August was equally disappointing. The squad squandered 2-0 and 3-1 leads to finish level at 10-man Werder Bremen, the equaliser coming in stoppage time. It was not Ten Hag's team for much longer. His dismissal came on 1 September.

Maintaining Composure

Quansah does not come across as the type to fret. If composure defines his game, it was on show during the interview he participated in after being selected for England for the Wembley friendly against Wales and the World Cup qualifier against Latvia.

Quansah has kept his head down under the new Leverkusen manager, the Danish tactician, and persisted in doing what he originally planned to do at the team – play. Hjulmand has brought stability. His team have positive results in their domestic campaign along with ties in each of their Champions League ties. But there is a more significant number that motivates the player, even bringing a measure of vindication. It is the fact that demonstrates he has been ever-present of the team's season.

International Recognition

It is one that the England head coach has noted. The England head coach was a fan previously, including him when he announced his initial selection. After omitting him in June so that Quansah could focus on the Under-21 European Championship, he gave him 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 training and within the squad environment because he was named at the beginning in Tuchel's squad selection for the upcoming matches, effectively as a fifth centre-back with the regular starter returning. The aspiration is a first appearance. It is another thing he would surely take in his stride.

Decision Making

"At Leverkusen, the club 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 things would remain consistent with which manager was to take over ... it was straightforward for me to choose this path.

"There were a numerous squad members leaving and it's consistently challenging when you see important figures leave. It has been difficult to establish new hierarchies but the results we have had recently demonstrate that we have got a competitive team with talented individuals. It is going to take time to develop and we are still progressing. But if we are achieving positive outcomes and avoiding defeats that is a good place 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 their London rivals in the previous season when he was introduced as an extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also a part of the previous campaign's domestic championship success. Yet his view of much of that was not the perspective he would have preferred. He was an non-playing reserve on 25 occasions in the competition, his four starts and nine appearances falling short compared to his statistics from the prior season when he started nine games.

Career Development

"I consistently developed off top-level professionals around me at Liverpool and it's been so good for my career," he comments. "However, for a developing defender, you need games and I'm going to be needing hundreds of games to be at my desired level.

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

Foundation Building

Quansah recalls his loan to League One Bristol Rovers in the later part of that season where he debuted at professional level – 16 of them, to be exact. There were "multiple reality checks", he notes with a grin, starting with his debut; a 5-1 defeat at Morecambe.

"That was a true eye-opener," Quansah says. "It proved a really valuable part of my career because I wanted to make the subsequent progression to regular senior competition. Each match I gained fresh insights. That's when I understood how crucial experience and playing games was. You could suggest it informed my decision in the summer."