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"From the outside, it seems crazy," Jarell Quansah remarks, as he looks back on his summer just gone, when dizzying change felt like a constant. "But it is one of them ... football is a unpredictable game."

A Brief Summary

Shortly after claiming victory in the U21 European Championship with the English national team at the end of June, Quansah opted to depart from his childhood club, to join the Bundesliga side in a £30m deal.

The big fee brought high expectations as the 22-year-old was tasked with finding his feet in a new country and at a team where the turnover was substantial. The new manager had stepped in to replace the previous coach and a number of star performers were gone or going – chief among them several high-profile names, key squad members, Jeremie Frimpong, Amine Adli, experienced professionals, Lukas Hradecky and team leaders.

League Introduction

Quansah's first league appearance came on August 23rd at home to Hoffenheim and the central defender found the net after the opening minutes, though the achievement was undercut by tragedy. All he could think about was Diogo Jota, who was killed in a car accident. Quansah executed his teammate's signature celebration as a tribute.

"To have a goal on your first Bundesliga match, at home, after five minutes, is certainly a whirlwind," Quansah states. "But my overwhelming feeling was that it was a tribute to Diogo."

Early Challenges

The player 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 fell to a 2-1 defeat and the following game on 30 August was equally disappointing. The squad squandered comfortable advantages to draw 3-3 at 10-man Werder Bremen, the equaliser coming in added time. It was not Ten Hag's team for very long. He was sacked on 1 September.

Staying Focused

Quansah doesn't appear to be the kind to worry. If composure defines his game, it was evident during the conversation 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, Kasper Hjulmand, and persisted in doing what he always intended to do at the team – play. Hjulmand has established consistency. His squad have positive results in four league matches along with ties in each of their European matches. But there is a broader statistic that encourages Quansah, even bringing a measure of vindication. It is the fact that demonstrates he has played every minute of the club's campaign.

International Recognition

It is one that Thomas Tuchel has noted. The England head coach was a fan previously, including him when he named his first squad. After leaving him out in the summer so that Quansah could focus on the youth tournament, he provided him with a last-minute inclusion in the autumn when the experienced defender was forced to withdraw.

Yet to earn 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, effectively as a additional defensive option with the regular starter returning. The dream is a first appearance. It is another thing he would certainly take in his stride.

Decision Making

"With my new club, the team were interested in me for a while and that's not just from the coach," Quansah says. "Their interest existed prior to his arrival. So knowing it was a type of organizational choice and nothing would change with whatever coach was to take over ... it was easy for me to make that decision.

"We had a numerous squad members departing and it's always tough when you see important figures leave. It has been difficult to build the leadership groups but the results we have had [under Hjulmand] show that we have developed a competitive team with talented individuals. It is requiring patience 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 wrench for Quansah to depart from his long-time club, his club from the age of five, where he enjoyed so many memorable moments – such as the league cup triumph over Chelsea in the previous season when he came on as an late replacement.

Quansah was also involved in the previous campaign's Premier League title triumph. Yet his perspective of much of that was not the one he would have preferred. He was an unused substitute on 25 occasions in the league, his limited playing time comparing unfavourably with his statistics from the prior season when he featured more regularly.

Career Development

"I consistently developed off some of the best players around me at my former club and it's been incredibly beneficial for my career," he says. "However, for a developing defender, you need games and I'm will require hundreds of games to be where I want to be.

"My primary desire was regular playing opportunities and when you are at a top-level club, it's not promised because there are world-class players 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 continue developing and improving."

Early Experience

Quansah remembers his loan to the lower division club in the later part of that season where he made his first senior appearances – multiple matches, to be exact. There were "multiple reality checks", he notes with a grin, beginning with his first game; a 5-1 defeat at Morecambe.

"That was a true eye-opener," Quansah reflects. "It was a extremely important 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 where I knew how crucial practical knowledge and match practice was. You could say it influenced my choice in the off-season."