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"From the outside, it appears crazy," the young defender says, 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 crazy game."

A Brief Summary

Shortly after claiming victory in the U21 European Championship with the English national team at the end of June, Quansah decided to leave Liverpool, to go to the Bundesliga side in a £30m deal.

The significant transfer sum brought big pressure as the young defender was charged with finding his feet in a new country and at a club where the churn was dramatic. The new manager had stepped in to replace the previous coach and a host of key players were departing or already left – including several high-profile names, key squad members, Jeremie Frimpong, prominent athletes, experienced professionals, Lukas Hradecky and Jonathan Tah.

League Introduction

Quansah's first league appearance came on 23 August at home to their opponents and the central defender scored after the opening minutes, though the goal was overshadowed by sadness. His primary thought was his former Liverpool teammate, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah performed his teammate's signature celebration as a mark of respect.

"To have a goal on your Bundesliga debut, at home, after five minutes, is definitely a rollercoaster," Quansah says. "However, my dominant emotion was that it was a homage to Diogo."

Early Challenges

The player could have been excused for questioning what he had committed to at the German club. From the promising start in their first league game, they succumbed to a narrow loss and the next match on 30 August was equally disappointing. Ten Hag's team threw away 2-0 and 3-1 leads to draw 3-3 at their reduced opponents, the equaliser coming in stoppage time. It was no longer his responsibility for much longer. His dismissal came on September 1st.

Maintaining Composure

Quansah doesn't appear to be the kind to worry. If calmness defines his game, it was evident during the conversation he gave after being selected for England for the international friendly against Wales and the World Cup qualifier against their next opponents.

Quansah has remained focused under the new Leverkusen manager, the Danish tactician, and continued to do what he originally planned to do at the club – compete. The new manager has brought stability. His team have three wins and one draw in four league matches along with ties 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 played every minute of the team's season.

National Team Attention

It is something that Thomas Tuchel has observed. The national team manager was a fan last season, including him when he announced his initial selection. After omitting him 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 compelled to pull out.

Yet to earn his first cap, Quansah must have done something right in practice sessions and around the camp because he was selected at the beginning in the manager's 24‑man group for Wales and Latvia, essentially as a fifth centre-back with the regular starter returning. The aspiration is a debut. It is another thing he would certainly handle with ease.

Decision Making

"With my new club, the team were keen on signing me for a while and that's not just from the coach," Quansah says. "They were interested prior to his arrival. So understanding it was a sort of internal decision and nothing would change with which manager was to take over ... it was straightforward for me to make that decision.

"We had a lot of players departing and it's always tough when you see important figures leave. It has been tough to build the leadership groups but the results we have had [under Hjulmand] demonstrate that we have developed a good squad with talented individuals. It is requiring patience to build and we are still progressing. But if we are getting results and avoiding defeats that is a good place to begin from."

Leaving Childhood Club

It had to have been a difficult separation for Quansah to depart from his long-time club, his team since childhood, where he enjoyed so many memorable moments – such as the league cup triumph over their London rivals in 2023‑24 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 chosen. He was an unused substitute on multiple matches in the league, his four starts and nine appearances falling short compared to his numbers 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 so good for my professional development," he says. "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 guaranteed because there are elite performers all over the pitch. I wanted an environment where they can trust that I could errors at times but they will see beyond that and recognize I can keep pushing and improving."

Early Experience

Quansah recalls his temporary transfer to League One Bristol Rovers in the second-half of 2022-23 where he debuted at professional level – 16 of them, to be exact. There were "multiple reality checks", he says with a smile, starting with his debut; a heavy loss at their opponents.

"That represented a genuine revelation," Quansah reflects. "It was a extremely important part of my career because I aimed to take the next step to playing first-team football. Each match I learned something new. That's when I knew how valuable experience and match practice was. You could suggest it informed my choice in the summer."