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

"To an observer, it appears crazy," Jarell Quansah says, as he reflects on his recent summer, when dizzying change felt like a constant. "However, that's just how it goes ... football is a unpredictable game."

A Brief Summary

Days after claiming victory in the U21 European Championship with England at the conclusion of June, Quansah decided to leave his childhood club, to join Bayer Leverkusen in a multi-million pound transfer.

The big fee equalled high expectations as the 22-year-old was charged with settling in in a foreign land and at a club where the churn was dramatic. The new manager had stepped in to succeed Xabi Alonso and a number of star performers were gone or going – including Florian Wirtz, key squad members, Jeremie Frimpong, Amine Adli, Granit Xhaka, established players and team leaders.

League Introduction

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on August 23rd at home to their opponents and the central defender scored after five minutes, albeit the goal was overshadowed by sadness. His primary thought was Diogo Jota, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah executed Jota's gamer celebration as a tribute.

"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 homage to Diogo."

Initial Struggles

The player could have been excused for questioning what he had signed up for at Leverkusen. From the promising start in their first league game, they succumbed to a 2-1 defeat and the following game on 30 August was just as bad. The squad squandered comfortable advantages to draw 3-3 at their reduced opponents, the tying goal coming in stoppage time. It was no longer his responsibility for very long. 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 conversation he gave after joining the national team for the Wembley friendly against Wales and the qualifying match against their next opponents.

Quansah has remained focused under the current coach, Kasper Hjulmand, and continued to do what he always intended to do at the team – compete. The new manager has brought stability. His squad have three wins and one draw in four league matches along with draws in each of their European matches. But there is a more significant number that motivates the player, even bringing a sense of justification. It is the fact that demonstrates he has played every minute of the team's season.

National Team Attention

It is something that Thomas Tuchel has observed. The national team manager was a fan last season, including him when he announced his initial selection. After omitting him in June so that Quansah could focus on the youth tournament, he gave him a last-minute inclusion in the autumn when the experienced defender was forced to withdraw.

Yet to earn his first cap, Quansah must have impressed sufficiently 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 additional defensive option with Stones fit again. The aspiration is a first appearance. It is one more milestone he would certainly handle with ease.

Career Choices

"At Leverkusen, the team were keen on signing me for a while and that's not only from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah explains. "They were interested before he got appointed. So understanding it was a sort of internal decision and nothing would change with whatever coach was to take over ... it was easy for me to choose this path.

"We had a lot of players leaving and it's consistently challenging when you see important figures leave. It has been tough to build the leadership groups but the results we have had [under Hjulmand] show that we have developed a good squad with quality players. It is going to take time to build and we are still progressing. 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 significant occasions – such as the Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea in the previous season when he was introduced as an late replacement.

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 chosen. He was an unused substitute on multiple matches in the league, his limited playing time comparing unfavourably with his numbers from 2023‑24 when he featured more regularly.

Professional Growth

"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 where I want to be.

"My primary desire was game time and when you are at a top-level club, it's not guaranteed because there are world-class players all over the pitch. I wanted somewhere where they can trust that I could errors at times but they will look under that and see I can continue developing and improving."

Foundation Building

Quansah recalls his temporary transfer to the lower division club in the second-half of 2022-23 where he debuted at professional level – 16 of them, to be precise. There were "multiple reality checks", he says with a grin, beginning with his first game; a heavy loss at their opponents.

"That represented a true eye-opener," Quansah says. "It was a really valuable part of my career because I wanted to make the subsequent progression to playing first-team football. Each match I gained fresh insights. That's when I understood how valuable practical knowledge and playing games was. You could say it influenced my choice in the summer."