🔗 Share this article Bayer Leverkusen's Jarell Quansah Keeps Calm and Continues Onward in His Steady Rise to Stardom "To an observer, it seems insane," Jarell Quansah remarks, as he looks back on his recent summer, when rapid transformation felt like a constant. "But it is one of them ... football is a crazy game." A Brief Summary Days after claiming victory in the U21 European Championship with England at the end of June, Quansah opted to depart from his childhood club, to join the Bundesliga side in a multi-million pound transfer. The big fee brought big pressure as the young defender was tasked with settling in in a new country and at a club where the churn was substantial. Erik ten Hag had stepped in to replace Xabi Alonso and a number of key players were departing or already left – including Florian Wirtz, Piero Hincapié, Jeremie Frimpong, Amine Adli, experienced professionals, established players and team leaders. Bundesliga Debut Quansah's first league appearance came on 23 August at their home ground to Hoffenheim and the central defender scored after five minutes, though the goal was overshadowed by sadness. All he could think about was Diogo Jota, who was killed in a car accident. 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 rollercoaster," Quansah says. "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 committed to at Leverkusen. From the promising start in their opening league fixture, they fell to a narrow loss and the next match on 30 August was just as bad. The squad threw away 2-0 and 3-1 leads to finish level at their reduced opponents, the equaliser coming in added time. It was no longer his responsibility for very long. He was sacked on 1 September. Maintaining Composure Quansah doesn't appear to be the kind to worry. If composure defines his game, it was evident 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 kept his head down under the current coach, the Danish tactician, and continued to do what he originally planned to do at the club – compete. The new manager has brought stability. His squad have positive results in four league matches along with draws in each of their Champions League ties. But there is a broader statistic that encourages Quansah, even bringing a measure of vindication. It is the one which shows he has been ever-present of the team's season. National Team Attention It is one that Thomas Tuchel has noted. The England head coach was a fan last season, selecting Quansah when he named his first squad. 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 the experienced defender was forced to withdraw. Still to win his first cap, Quansah must have done something right in practice sessions and around the camp because he was named at the beginning in Tuchel's squad selection for the upcoming matches, essentially as a fifth centre-back with Stones fit again. The dream is a first appearance. It is one more milestone he would surely handle with ease. Decision Making "With my new club, the team were keen on signing me for a considerable time and that's not only from the coach," Quansah explains. "Their interest existed prior to his arrival. So knowing it was a sort of organizational choice and things would remain consistent with whatever coach 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 difficult to establish new hierarchies but the outcomes we have had recently demonstrate that we have developed a competitive team with quality players. It is requiring patience to build and we are still progressing. But if we are achieving positive outcomes and not losing that is a good place to begin from." Leaving Childhood Club It had to have been a difficult separation for Quansah to leave his long-time club, his club from the age of five, where he experienced so many memorable moments – such as the league cup triumph over Chelsea in the previous season when he was introduced as an extra-time substitute. Quansah was also a part of the previous campaign's Premier League title triumph. Yet his perspective of most of that achievement was not the perspective he would have chosen. He was an non-playing reserve on 25 occasions in the league, his four starts and nine appearances comparing unfavourably with his numbers from 2023‑24 when he started nine games. Career Development "I've always learned off some of the best players around me at Liverpool and it's been incredibly beneficial for my professional development," he says. "But as a young centre-back, you need games and I'm will require 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 promised because there are elite performers all over the pitch. I wanted somewhere where they can trust that I could errors at certain moments but they will look under that and recognize I can keep pushing and improving." Foundation Building Quansah remembers his loan to League One Bristol Rovers in the second-half of 2022-23 where he debuted at professional level – 16 of them, to be precise. There were "numerous wake-up calls", he notes with a grin, starting with his debut; a 5-1 defeat at their opponents. "That represented a true eye-opener," Quansah reflects. "It proved a extremely important chapter in my development because I aimed to take the subsequent progression to regular senior competition. Each match I learned something new. That's when I knew how valuable practical knowledge and playing games was. You could suggest it informed my choice in the summer."