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"From the outside, it appears insane," the young defender remarks, as he looks back on his summer just gone, when dizzying change felt like a constant. "However, that's just how it goes ... football is a crazy game."

A Brief Summary

Shortly after winning the U21 European Championship with the English national team at the conclusion of June, Quansah decided to leave Liverpool, to join Bayer Leverkusen in a £30m deal.

The significant transfer sum brought big pressure as the young defender was charged with settling in in a new country and at a club where the turnover was dramatic. The new manager had stepped in to succeed Xabi Alonso and a number of key players were departing or already left – including several high-profile names, Piero Hincapié, Jeremie Frimpong, prominent athletes, experienced professionals, Lukas Hradecky and team leaders.

Bundesliga Debut

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on 23 August at their home ground to their opponents and the centre-half scored after five minutes, albeit the goal was overshadowed by tragedy. All he could think about was his former Liverpool teammate, who was killed in a car accident. Quansah executed his teammate's signature celebration as a tribute.

"To have a goal on your Bundesliga debut, in front of home fans, after five minutes, is certainly a rollercoaster," Quansah states. "But my overwhelming feeling was that it was a homage to Diogo."

Early Challenges

The defender could have been forgiven for wondering what he had committed to at Leverkusen. From the promising start in their first league game, they succumbed to a 2-1 defeat and the next match on August 30th was equally disappointing. Ten Hag's team squandered comfortable advantages to draw 3-3 at 10-man Werder Bremen, the tying goal coming in added time. It was no longer his responsibility for much longer. He was sacked 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 joining England for the international friendly against Wales and the qualifying match against their next opponents.

Quansah has kept his head down under the current coach, Kasper Hjulmand, and persisted in doing what he originally planned to do at the team – compete. The new manager has brought stability. His team have positive results in four league matches along with draws in each of their Champions League ties. But there is a more significant number that motivates the player, 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 one that Thomas Tuchel has observed. The national team manager was a admirer last season, selecting Quansah when he announced his initial selection. After omitting him in June so that Quansah could focus on the Under-21 European Championship, he gave him a late call-up in the autumn when the experienced defender was compelled to pull out.

Still to win his first cap, Quansah must have done something right in practice sessions and within the squad environment because he was named at the beginning in Tuchel's squad selection for the upcoming matches, effectively as a fifth centre-back with the regular starter returning. The dream is a first appearance. It is one more milestone he would surely handle with ease.

Decision Making

"With my new club, the club were interested in me for a while and that's not just from the coach," Quansah explains. "Their interest existed prior to his arrival. 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 leaving and it's always tough when you see important figures leave. It has been tough to establish new hierarchies but the outcomes we have had recently show that we have developed a good squad with talented individuals. It is requiring patience to develop and we are still progressing. But if we are getting results and not losing that is a good place to begin from."

Leaving Childhood Club

It had to have been a wrench for Quansah to depart from Liverpool, his team since childhood, where he enjoyed so many significant occasions – such as the Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea in the previous season 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 perspective he would have chosen. He was an unused substitute on 25 occasions in the league, his four starts and nine appearances falling short compared to his numbers from 2023‑24 when he featured more regularly.

Career Development

"I consistently developed off some of the best players around me at Liverpool and it's been incredibly beneficial for my career," he comments. "However, for a developing defender, you need games and I'm will require extensive playing time to be where I want to be.

"I just wanted regular playing opportunities and when you are at a top-level club, it's not guaranteed because there are world-class players all over the pitch. I wanted an environment where they can trust that I could errors at certain moments but they will look under that and see I can continue developing and improving."

Early Experience

Quansah remembers his loan to the lower division club in the second-half of 2022-23 where he debuted at professional level – 16 of them, to be precise. There were "numerous wake-up calls", he says with a grin, beginning with his first game; a heavy loss at their opponents.

"That represented a true eye-opener," Quansah says. "It was a really valuable chapter in my development because I aimed to take the next step to playing first-team football. Each match I gained fresh insights. That's where I knew how crucial practical knowledge and playing games was. You could say it influenced my choice in the off-season."