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"From the outside, it seems crazy," Jarell Quansah says, as he looks back on his summer just gone, when rapid transformation felt like a constant. "However, that's just how it goes ... football is a unpredictable game."

A Quick Recap

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

The significant transfer sum equalled high expectations as the 22-year-old was charged with finding his feet in a foreign land and at a team where the churn was substantial. Erik ten Hag had stepped in to succeed the previous coach and a host of key players were departing or already left – including several high-profile names, key squad members, influential figures, Amine Adli, experienced professionals, established players and team leaders.

League Introduction

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on August 23rd at their home ground to Hoffenheim and the centre-half found the net after the opening minutes, albeit the achievement was undercut by sadness. His primary thought was Diogo Jota, who was killed in a car accident. Quansah performed his teammate's signature celebration as a tribute.

"To have a goal on your Bundesliga debut, at home, after the opening moments, is definitely a whirlwind," Quansah states. "However, my dominant emotion was that it was a tribute to Diogo."

Initial Struggles

The player could have been excused for questioning what he had signed up for at Leverkusen. After the encouraging beginning in their first league game, they fell to a narrow loss and the next match on 30 August was just as bad. Ten Hag's team squandered comfortable advantages to draw 3-3 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.

Staying Focused

Quansah doesn't appear to be the kind to worry. If composure characterizes his playing style, 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 Latvia.

Quansah has remained focused under the current coach, the Danish tactician, and continued to do what he always intended to do at the club – compete. Hjulmand has brought stability. His squad have three wins and one draw in their domestic campaign along with ties in each of their European matches. But there is a broader statistic that encourages Quansah, even bringing a sense of justification. It is the one which shows he has been ever-present of the team's season.

International Recognition

It is one that the England head coach has observed. The England head coach was a admirer last season, selecting Quansah when he named his first squad. After omitting him in June so that Quansah could concentrate on the Under-21 European Championship, he provided him with a last-minute inclusion in September when the experienced defender was compelled to pull out.

Still to win his international debut, Quansah must have done something right in training and within the squad environment because he was selected at the beginning in the manager's 24‑man group for the upcoming matches, effectively as a fifth centre-back with the regular starter returning. The dream is a debut. It is another thing he would certainly handle with ease.

Career Choices

"With my new club, the club were interested in me for a considerable time and that's not only from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah says. "Their interest existed before he got appointed. So understanding it was a sort of internal decision 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 leaving and it's consistently challenging when you see important figures leave. It has been difficult to establish new hierarchies but the outcomes we have had [under Hjulmand] demonstrate that we have got a competitive team with talented individuals. 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 begin from."

Liverpool Departure

It had to have been a wrench for Quansah to leave Liverpool, his club from the age of five, where he experienced so many significant occasions – such as the league cup triumph over Chelsea in the previous season when he came on as an extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also a part of last season's domestic championship success. Yet his view of much of that was not the perspective he would have chosen. He was an non-playing reserve on multiple matches in the league, his limited playing time falling short compared to his statistics from the prior season when he featured more regularly.

Career Development

"I've always learned off some of the best players around me at my former club and it's been so good for my professional development," he comments. "But as a young centre-back, you require match experience and I'm will require extensive playing time to be where I want to be.

"My primary desire was game time and when you are at a team like Liverpool, it's not promised because there are world-class players throughout the squad. I wanted an environment where they can have confidence that I might make mistakes at times but they will see beyond that and recognize I can continue developing and improving."

Early Experience

Quansah remembers his temporary transfer to League One Bristol Rovers in the later part of that season where he debuted at professional level – multiple matches, to be exact. There were "numerous wake-up calls", he notes with a grin, starting with his debut; a heavy loss at their opponents.

"That was a genuine revelation," Quansah says. "It proved a really valuable chapter in my development because I wanted to make the next step to playing first-team football. Every game I gained fresh insights. That's where I knew how valuable experience and match practice was. You could suggest it influenced my decision in the summer."