Jarell Quansah says his decision to leave Liverpool for Bayer Leverkusen was driven by a desire for more regular first-team football after being sidelined under new manager Arne Slot.
The 22-year-old defender, who came through Liverpool’s Academy, made 58 senior appearances for the club before leaving Anfield in the summer.
Despite being considered one of the Reds’ brightest young prospects, Quansah started just four Premier League games last season – and his status suffered further when he was substituted at half-time in Slot’s first competitive game in charge for ‘tactical reasons’.
He only started another league match in December and eventually decided to seek a new challenge abroad.
Leverkusen paid £35m to secure his services in July, giving the centre-back another opportunity to play regular football at the highest level.
“I learned from some of the best players around me at the time at Liverpool,” Quansah said.
“Being able to do that has been so good for my career. That’s always been a big part of it. In this part of my career, 22 are 23 [in January]I need hundreds of games to be where I want to be.
“I think overall that’s why the decision was made and why I thought going abroad was best for me.”
Having developed under Jurgen Klopp and now adapting to life in the Bundesliga, Quansah has continued his rise following a standout summer in which he helped England win the European Under-21 Championship.
Despite being called up to five senior England squads by Gareth Southgate, Lee Carsley and Thomas Tuchel, Quansah is still waiting for his first international cap.
However, he insists he is relishing the experience and keen to make his breakthrough.
“It’s not a strange feeling, I’m really excited to be here,” he said. “It’s always a huge honor to be called up and I’m grateful for the manager too. It’s always about learning from the senior players who have more caps than me.
“Hopefully that’s something I’ll achieve, a cap for England.”
England face Wales at Wembley on Thursday in a friendly before traveling to Latvia next Tuesday for a World Cup qualifier – and Quansah could be in line to make his long-awaited debut.
