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"From the outside, it seems crazy," the young defender remarks, as he reflects on his recent summer, when rapid transformation felt like a constant. "But it is one of them ... football is a crazy game."

A Quick Recap

Days after claiming victory in the U21 European Championship with England at the conclusion of June, Quansah opted to depart from Liverpool, to go to the Bundesliga side in a multi-million pound transfer.

The big fee brought big pressure as the 22-year-old was tasked with finding his feet in a new country and at a club where the turnover was dramatic. The new manager had taken over to succeed Xabi Alonso and a number of star performers were departing or already left – including several high-profile names, key squad members, influential figures, prominent athletes, Granit Xhaka, Lukas Hradecky and Jonathan Tah.

Bundesliga Debut

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on August 23rd at home to Hoffenheim and the central defender found the net after the opening minutes, albeit the achievement was undercut by tragedy. His primary thought was Diogo Jota, who was tragically lost in a road incident. 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 rollercoaster," Quansah states. "But my overwhelming feeling was that it was a tribute to Diogo."

Initial Struggles

The player could have been excused for questioning what he had committed to at Leverkusen. After the encouraging beginning in their opening league fixture, they succumbed to a 2-1 defeat 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. He was sacked on September 1st.

Staying Focused

Quansah doesn't appear to be the type to fret. If composure characterizes his playing style, it was on show during the conversation he participated in after joining England for the international friendly against Wales and the qualifying match against Latvia.

Quansah has kept his head down under the new Leverkusen manager, Kasper Hjulmand, and persisted in doing what he originally planned to do at the club – compete. Hjulmand has established consistency. His team have positive results in four league matches along with draws 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 played every minute of the team's season.

National Team Attention

It is one that the England head coach has noted. The England head coach was a fan previously, including him when he announced his initial selection. After leaving him out in June so that Quansah could focus on the Under-21 European Championship, he provided him with a last-minute inclusion in September when John Stones was compelled to pull out.

Still to win his first cap, Quansah must have done something right in training and within the squad environment because he was selected at the outset in the manager's squad selection for Wales and Latvia, effectively as a fifth centre-back with the regular starter returning. The dream is a first appearance. It is one more milestone he would certainly handle with ease.

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 before he got appointed. So understanding it was a type of organizational choice and nothing would change with whatever coach was to come in ... it was easy for me to choose this path.

"There were a lot of players 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] demonstrate that we have developed a good squad with talented individuals. It is requiring patience to develop and we are not where we want to be. 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 difficult separation for Quansah to leave Liverpool, his club from the age of five, where he experienced so many memorable moments – such as the Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea in 2023‑24 when he was introduced as an extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also a part of the previous campaign's domestic championship success. Yet his perspective of most of that achievement was not the perspective he would have chosen. He was an unused substitute on multiple matches in the competition, his four starts and nine appearances falling short compared to his statistics from 2023‑24 when he started nine games.

Professional Growth

"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. "But as a young centre-back, you require match experience and I'm going to be needing extensive playing time to be where I want to be.

"I just wanted game time and when you are at a top-level club, it's not guaranteed because there are elite performers all over the pitch. I wanted somewhere where they can trust that I could errors at times but they will see beyond that and see I can continue developing and pushing."

Early Experience

Quansah remembers his loan to League One Bristol Rovers in the second-half of 2022-23 where he made his first senior appearances – multiple matches, to be exact. There were "numerous wake-up calls", he notes with a smile, starting with his first game; a 5-1 defeat at their opponents.

"That was a genuine revelation," Quansah reflects. "It proved a extremely important chapter in my development because I aimed to take the next step to playing first-team football. Every game I gained fresh insights. That's where I understood how valuable practical knowledge and match practice was. You could suggest it informed my choice in the off-season."