Leverkusen's Quansah Keeps Calm and Continues Onward in His Gradual Ascent to Stardom

"To an observer, it appears insane," Jarell Quansah says, 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 crazy game."

A Brief Summary

Days after winning the European Under-21 Championship with England at the end of June, Quansah opted to depart from Liverpool, to join the Bundesliga side in a £30m deal.

The big fee brought big pressure as the 22-year-old was charged with finding his feet in a new country and at a club where the churn was substantial. Erik ten Hag had taken over to succeed the previous coach and a host of star performers were departing or already left – chief among them several high-profile names, key squad members, influential figures, prominent athletes, experienced professionals, Lukas Hradecky and team leaders.

League Introduction

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on 23 August at their home ground to their opponents and the centre-half found the net after five minutes, though the goal was overshadowed by tragedy. All he could think about was his former Liverpool teammate, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah executed Jota's gamer celebration as a tribute.

"Scoring on your Bundesliga debut, at home, after the opening moments, is definitely a rollercoaster," Quansah states. "But my overwhelming feeling was that it was a tribute to Diogo."

Initial Struggles

The defender could have been forgiven for wondering what he had signed up for at the German club. After the encouraging beginning in their opening league fixture, they succumbed to a 2-1 defeat and the next match on 30 August was equally disappointing. The squad threw away 2-0 and 3-1 leads to finish level at 10-man Werder Bremen, the tying goal coming in stoppage time. It was not Ten Hag's team for very long. He was sacked on September 1st.

Staying Focused

Quansah does not come across as the type to fret. If calmness characterizes his playing style, it was on show during the interview he participated in after joining England for the international friendly against their rivals and the World Cup qualifier against their next opponents.

Quansah has remained focused under the current coach, Kasper Hjulmand, and persisted in doing what he originally planned to do at the club – play. 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 motivates the player, even bringing a sense of justification. It is the one which shows he has been ever-present of the club's campaign.

International Recognition

It is something that Thomas Tuchel has observed. The national team manager was a fan previously, selecting Quansah when he named his first squad. After omitting him in the summer so that Quansah could focus on the youth tournament, he gave him a late call-up in September when the experienced defender was compelled to pull out.

Yet to earn his first cap, Quansah must have impressed sufficiently in training and within the squad environment because he was named at the beginning in the manager's 24‑man group for the upcoming matches, essentially as a fifth centre-back with the regular starter returning. The dream is a first appearance. It is one more milestone he would surely handle with ease.

Career Choices

"With my new club, the club were interested in me for a while and that's not just from the coach," Quansah says. "They were interested before he got appointed. 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.

"There were a numerous squad members departing and it's always tough when you lose key players. It has been difficult to establish new hierarchies but the outcomes we have had recently show 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 avoiding defeats that is a solid foundation to start."

Liverpool Departure

It had to have been a difficult separation for Quansah to depart from his long-time club, his team since childhood, where he experienced so many memorable moments – such as the league cup triumph over Chelsea in 2023‑24 when he came on as an extra-time substitute.

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

Professional Growth

"I consistently developed off some of the best players around me at Liverpool 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 extensive playing time to be at my desired level.

"I just wanted game time and when you are at a top-level club, it's not guaranteed because there are world-class players throughout the squad. I wanted an environment 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."

Early Experience

Quansah recalls his loan to League One Bristol Rovers 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 grin, starting with his first game; a heavy loss at their opponents.

"That represented a genuine revelation," Quansah reflects. "It proved a really valuable chapter in my development because I aimed to take the subsequent progression to regular senior competition. Every game I learned something new. That's when I knew how crucial experience and playing games was. You could say it influenced my decision in the off-season."