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

"To an observer, it seems crazy," Jarell Quansah remarks, as he looks back on his recent summer, when rapid transformation felt like a constant. "However, that's just how it goes ... football is a unpredictable game."

A Brief Summary

Shortly after claiming victory in the U21 European Championship with England at the end of June, Quansah opted to depart from Liverpool, to go to Bayer Leverkusen in a £30m deal.

The big fee brought high expectations as the young defender was charged with settling in in a foreign land and at a club where the churn was substantial. Erik ten Hag had taken over to replace the previous coach and a host of key players were departing or already left – chief among them several high-profile names, Piero Hincapié, influential figures, Amine Adli, experienced professionals, established players and Jonathan Tah.

Bundesliga Debut

Quansah's first league appearance came on August 23rd at their home ground to Hoffenheim and the centre-half scored after five minutes, though the achievement was overshadowed by sadness. His primary thought was Diogo Jota, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah executed his teammate's signature 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. "But my overwhelming feeling was that it was a tribute to Diogo."

Early Challenges

The defender 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 next match on August 30th was just as bad. The squad squandered 2-0 and 3-1 leads to finish level 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 1 September.

Staying Focused

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

Quansah has remained focused under the new Leverkusen manager, the Danish tactician, and continued to do what he always intended to do at the club – compete. Hjulmand has brought stability. His team have positive results in four league matches along with ties in each of their Champions League ties. But there is a broader statistic 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.

National Team Attention

It is one that the England head coach has noted. The national team manager was a fan previously, including him when he announced his initial selection. After leaving him out in June so that Quansah could concentrate on the youth tournament, he provided him with a last-minute inclusion in September when John Stones was forced to withdraw.

Still to win his international debut, Quansah must have done something right in training and within the squad environment because he was named at the beginning in Tuchel's squad selection for the upcoming matches, essentially as a fifth centre-back with the regular starter returning. The aspiration is a debut. It is one more milestone he would certainly take in his stride.

Decision Making

"At Leverkusen, the team were keen on signing me for a while and that's not just from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah explains. "Their interest existed prior to his arrival. So knowing it was a type of internal decision and things would remain consistent with which manager was to take over ... it was straightforward for me to choose this path.

"We had a numerous squad members departing and it's always tough when you lose key players. It has been tough to build the leadership groups but the outcomes we have had recently demonstrate that we have developed a competitive team with quality players. It is going to take time to develop and we are not where we want to be. But if we are getting results and not losing that is a solid foundation to begin from."

Liverpool Departure

It had to have been a wrench for Quansah to depart from his long-time club, his team since childhood, where he enjoyed so many memorable moments – such as the Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea in 2023‑24 when he came on as an late replacement.

Quansah was also involved in last season's Premier League title triumph. Yet his perspective of much of that was not the one he would have chosen. He was an non-playing reserve on multiple matches in the competition, his four starts and nine appearances falling short compared to 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 so good for my professional development," he comments. "However, for a developing defender, you need games and I'm going to be needing hundreds of games to be where I want to be.

"I just wanted game time and when you are at a top-level club, it's not guaranteed 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 continue developing and improving."

Foundation Building

Quansah remembers his temporary transfer to League One Bristol Rovers in the second-half of 2022-23 where he debuted at professional level – multiple matches, to be precise. There were "numerous wake-up calls", he says with a grin, starting with his first game; a 5-1 defeat at their opponents.

"That represented a genuine revelation," Quansah reflects. "It proved a extremely important part of my career because I aimed to take the subsequent progression to playing first-team football. Every game I gained fresh insights. That's where I understood how valuable practical knowledge and playing games was. You could suggest it influenced my decision in the off-season."