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"From the outside, it seems crazy," Jarell Quansah says, as he looks back 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 European Under-21 Championship with England at the end of June, Quansah decided to leave his childhood club, to go to the Bundesliga side in a multi-million pound transfer.

The significant transfer sum equalled high expectations as the young defender was tasked with settling in in a foreign land and at a team where the churn was substantial. The new manager had taken over to replace the previous coach and a number of key players were departing or already left – chief among them several high-profile names, Piero Hincapié, Jeremie Frimpong, prominent athletes, experienced professionals, Lukas Hradecky and team leaders.

League Introduction

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on August 23rd at home to their opponents and the central defender found the net after the opening minutes, though the achievement was overshadowed by sadness. All he could think about 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 first Bundesliga match, 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 defender could have been forgiven for wondering what he had signed up for at the German club. From the promising start in their opening league fixture, they succumbed to a 2-1 defeat and the following game on August 30th was equally disappointing. Ten Hag's team squandered 2-0 and 3-1 leads to finish level at 10-man Werder Bremen, the tying goal coming in added time. It was not Ten Hag's team for much longer. He was sacked on September 1st.

Maintaining Composure

Quansah does not come across as the kind to worry. If composure characterizes his playing style, it was on show during the conversation he participated in after being selected for England 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 club – compete. The new manager has brought stability. His team have positive results in their domestic campaign along with draws in each of their European matches. But there is a more significant number that encourages Quansah, even bringing a sense of justification. It is the fact that demonstrates he has played every minute of the club's campaign.

National Team Attention

It is something that Thomas Tuchel has noted. The national team manager was a fan previously, including him when he named his first squad. After leaving him out in the summer 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.

Yet to earn his international debut, Quansah must have done something right in practice sessions and around the camp because he was selected at the outset in Tuchel's 24‑man group for Wales and Latvia, essentially as a additional defensive option with the regular starter returning. The aspiration is a debut. It is another thing he would surely take in his stride.

Career Choices

"With my new club, the club were interested in me for a while and that's not only from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah says. "Their interest existed prior to his arrival. So understanding it was a type of organizational choice and nothing would change with whatever coach 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 see important figures leave. It has been difficult to build the leadership groups but the results we have had recently demonstrate that we have developed a good squad with quality players. It is going to take time to develop and we are still progressing. But if we are getting results and not losing that is a good place to begin from."

Leaving Childhood Club

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 significant occasions – such as the league cup triumph over their London rivals in 2023‑24 when he came on as an extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also involved in the previous campaign's domestic championship success. 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 competition, his limited playing time comparing unfavourably with his statistics from 2023‑24 when he started nine games.

Professional Growth

"I consistently developed off top-level professionals around me at my former club and it's been so good for my professional development," he comments. "However, for a developing defender, you require match experience and I'm going to be needing extensive playing time to be where I want to be.

"My primary desire was regular playing opportunities and when you are at a team like Liverpool, it's not promised because there are elite performers all over the pitch. I wanted an environment where they can have confidence that I could errors at times but they will see beyond that and recognize I can continue developing and pushing."

Foundation Building

Quansah remembers his temporary transfer to League One Bristol Rovers in the second-half of 2022-23 where he debuted at professional level – multiple matches, to be precise. There were "numerous wake-up calls", he says with a grin, beginning with his first game; a heavy loss at Morecambe.

"That was a genuine revelation," Quansah reflects. "It was a extremely important part of my career because I aimed to take the subsequent progression to playing first-team football. Each match I gained fresh insights. That's where I knew how valuable experience and match practice was. You could suggest it influenced my choice in the summer."