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"From the outside, it seems insane," 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 Quick Recap

Days after claiming victory in the U21 European Championship with the English national team at the end of June, Quansah decided to leave his childhood club, to join Bayer Leverkusen in a multi-million pound transfer.

The big fee equalled big pressure as the 22-year-old was charged with finding his feet in a new country and at a team where the churn was dramatic. Erik ten Hag had taken over to succeed Xabi Alonso and a host of key players were departing or already left – including Florian Wirtz, key squad members, influential figures, Amine Adli, experienced professionals, Lukas Hradecky and team leaders.

League Introduction

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on August 23rd at their home ground to their opponents and the central defender scored after five minutes, albeit the goal was overshadowed by sadness. All he could think about was Diogo Jota, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah executed Jota's gamer celebration as a mark of respect.

"Scoring on your Bundesliga debut, at home, after five minutes, is certainly a whirlwind," Quansah states. "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 signed up for at Leverkusen. After the encouraging beginning in their opening league fixture, they fell to a 2-1 defeat and the next match on August 30th was equally disappointing. Ten Hag's team squandered 2-0 and 3-1 leads to draw 3-3 at their reduced opponents, the tying goal coming in added time. It was no longer his responsibility for much longer. His dismissal came on 1 September.

Staying Focused

Quansah does not come across as the kind to worry. If composure defines his game, it was evident during the conversation he gave after being selected for the national team for the international friendly against Wales and the World Cup qualifier against Latvia.

Quansah has kept his head down under the current coach, Kasper Hjulmand, and continued to do what he originally planned to do at the club – compete. The new manager has established consistency. His squad have three wins and one draw in four league matches along with ties 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 been ever-present of the club's campaign.

International Recognition

It is something that the England head coach has observed. The national team manager was a fan last season, selecting Quansah when he announced his initial selection. After leaving him out in June so that Quansah could concentrate on the youth tournament, he gave him a last-minute inclusion in the autumn when the experienced defender was compelled to pull out.

Yet to earn his international debut, Quansah must have impressed sufficiently in practice sessions and within the squad environment because he was named at the outset in Tuchel's 24‑man group for the upcoming matches, effectively as a additional defensive option with the regular starter returning. The aspiration is a debut. It is one more milestone he would certainly handle with ease.

Career Choices

"With my new club, the club were keen on signing me for a considerable time and that's not just from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah says. "They were interested before he got appointed. So understanding it was a sort of internal decision and things would remain consistent with which manager was to come in ... it was easy for me to make that decision.

"There were a lot of players departing and it's consistently challenging when you lose key players. It has been difficult to establish new hierarchies but the results we have had [under Hjulmand] demonstrate that we have got a competitive team with quality players. 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 wrench for Quansah to leave his long-time club, his club from the age of five, where he enjoyed so many significant occasions – such as the Carabao Cup final victory over their London rivals in the previous season when he came on as an extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also a part of last season's Premier League title triumph. Yet his view of most of that achievement was not the perspective he would have preferred. He was an non-playing reserve on 25 occasions in the league, his limited playing time comparing unfavourably with his statistics from 2023‑24 when he started nine games.

Career Development

"I consistently developed off top-level professionals around me at Liverpool and it's been incredibly beneficial for my career," he says. "But as a young centre-back, you need games and I'm going to be needing extensive playing time to be at my desired level.

"I just wanted game time and when you are at a team like Liverpool, it's not promised because there are elite performers throughout the squad. I wanted somewhere where they can have confidence that I might make mistakes at certain moments but they will see beyond that and recognize I can keep pushing and improving."

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 – 16 of them, to be precise. There were "multiple reality checks", he notes with a smile, beginning with his debut; a heavy loss at Morecambe.

"That was a genuine revelation," Quansah reflects. "It proved a extremely important chapter in my development because I wanted to make the next step to playing first-team football. Each match I learned something new. That's where I understood how crucial experience and playing games was. You could suggest it informed my decision in the summer."