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"From the outside, it appears insane," the young defender says, as he reflects on his recent summer, 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 European Under-21 Championship with England at the conclusion of June, Quansah opted to depart from Liverpool, to join 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 stepped in to succeed the previous coach and a host of key players were departing or already left – chief among them several high-profile names, Piero Hincapié, influential figures, Amine Adli, Granit Xhaka, established players and team leaders.

Bundesliga Debut

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on 23 August at their home ground to Hoffenheim and the centre-half found the net after the opening minutes, though the goal was undercut by sadness. His primary thought was Diogo Jota, who was killed in a car accident. Quansah executed his teammate's signature celebration as a mark of respect.

"Scoring on your first Bundesliga match, at home, after five minutes, is certainly a rollercoaster," Quansah states. "But my overwhelming feeling was that it was a tribute to Diogo."

Early Challenges

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 fell to a narrow loss and the next match on August 30th was just as bad. The squad threw away comfortable advantages to finish level at their reduced opponents, the tying goal coming in stoppage time. It was not Ten Hag's team for very long. He was sacked on 1 September.

Staying Focused

Quansah doesn't appear to be the kind to worry. If calmness defines his game, it was on show during the conversation he participated in after joining the national team for the international friendly against their rivals and the World Cup qualifier against Latvia.

Quansah has remained focused under the new Leverkusen manager, Kasper Hjulmand, and continued to do what he always intended to do at the team – compete. The new manager has brought stability. His squad have positive results in four league matches along with ties 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 been ever-present of the team's season.

International Recognition

It is one that the England head coach has noted. The England head coach was a fan previously, selecting Quansah when he named his first squad. After omitting him in the summer so that Quansah could concentrate on the Under-21 European Championship, he provided him with a late call-up in September when the experienced defender was forced to withdraw.

Yet to earn his first cap, Quansah must have done something right in training and around the camp because he was selected at the outset in Tuchel's 24‑man group for the upcoming matches, effectively as a additional defensive option with Stones fit again. The dream is a first appearance. It is one more milestone he would certainly take in his stride.

Decision Making

"With my new club, the team were keen on signing me for a while and that's not just from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah says. "Their interest existed prior to his arrival. So knowing it was a type of internal decision and things would remain consistent with whatever coach was to come in ... it was easy for me to choose this path.

"We had a lot of players leaving and it's consistently challenging when you lose key players. It has been tough to build the leadership groups but the results we have had [under Hjulmand] show that we have got a good squad with talented individuals. It is going to take time to develop and we are still progressing. But if we are getting results and avoiding defeats that is a solid foundation to begin from."

Leaving Childhood Club

It had to have been a wrench for Quansah to leave his long-time club, his team since childhood, where he experienced so many significant occasions – such as the Carabao Cup final victory over their London rivals in 2023‑24 when he came on as an extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also a part of last season's domestic championship success. Yet his perspective of most of that achievement was not the one he would have preferred. He was an unused substitute on multiple matches in the competition, his limited playing time comparing unfavourably with his statistics from the prior season when he started nine games.

Career Development

"I've always learned off some of the best players around me at Liverpool and it's been so good for my professional development," he says. "But as a young centre-back, you require match experience and I'm going to be needing hundreds of games to be at my desired level.

"I just wanted regular playing opportunities and when you are at a team like Liverpool, it's not guaranteed because there are world-class players all over the pitch. I wanted somewhere where they can trust that I might make mistakes at certain moments but they will look under that and see I can continue developing and pushing."

Early Experience

Quansah recalls his temporary transfer to the lower division club in the later part of that season where he made his first senior appearances – 16 of them, to be precise. There were "numerous wake-up calls", he says with a smile, starting with his first game; a heavy loss at their opponents.

"That represented a genuine revelation," Quansah says. "It was 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 when I understood how crucial practical knowledge and playing games was. You could suggest it influenced my choice in the off-season."