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"To an observer, it appears crazy," the young defender remarks, as he looks back on his summer just gone, when rapid transformation felt like a constant. "But it is one of them ... football is a crazy game."

A Brief Summary

Days after winning the U21 European Championship with the English national team at the end of June, Quansah decided to leave Liverpool, to go to Bayer Leverkusen in a multi-million pound transfer.

The significant transfer sum brought high expectations as the 22-year-old was charged with settling in in a new country and at a team where the churn was substantial. Erik ten Hag had taken over to succeed Xabi Alonso and a number of star performers were gone or going – including Florian Wirtz, Piero Hincapié, Jeremie Frimpong, prominent athletes, experienced professionals, Lukas Hradecky and team leaders.

Bundesliga Debut

Quansah's first league appearance came on 23 August at their home ground to Hoffenheim and the central defender found the net after five minutes, albeit the achievement was undercut by tragedy. All he could think about was Diogo Jota, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah executed his teammate's signature celebration as a mark of respect.

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

Early Challenges

The player could have been forgiven for wondering what he had signed up for at Leverkusen. From the promising start in their first league game, they succumbed to a 2-1 defeat and the following game on August 30th was equally disappointing. The squad squandered 2-0 and 3-1 leads 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 September 1st.

Staying Focused

Quansah doesn't appear to be the kind to worry. If calmness defines his game, it was evident during the interview he gave after joining England 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. Hjulmand has brought stability. His team have positive results in their domestic campaign 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 fact that demonstrates he has been ever-present of the club's campaign.

International Recognition

It is one that Thomas Tuchel has noted. The national team manager was a admirer last season, selecting Quansah when he announced his initial selection. After leaving him out in the summer so that Quansah could focus on the Under-21 European Championship, he provided him with a last-minute inclusion in September when the experienced defender was forced to withdraw.

Still to win his international debut, Quansah must have done something right in training and around the camp because he was selected at the beginning 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 first appearance. It is one more milestone he would certainly handle with ease.

Decision Making

"With my new club, the club were interested in me for a while and that's not only from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah says. "Their interest existed before he got appointed. So knowing it was a sort of internal decision and nothing would change with whatever coach was to come in ... it was easy for me to choose this path.

"We had a lot of players departing and it's consistently challenging when you lose key players. It has been difficult to build the leadership groups but the outcomes we have had [under Hjulmand] show that we have got a competitive team with talented individuals. It is requiring patience to develop and we are still progressing. 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 depart from his long-time club, his team since childhood, where he experienced so many memorable moments – such as the Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea in 2023‑24 when he came on as an extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also involved in the previous campaign's domestic championship success. Yet his view of most of that achievement was not the perspective he would have chosen. He was an non-playing reserve on multiple matches in the league, his limited playing time falling short compared to his statistics from the prior season when he started nine games.

Professional Growth

"I consistently developed off some of the best players around me at Liverpool and it's been incredibly beneficial for my career," he comments. "But as a young centre-back, you need games and I'm going to be needing hundreds of games 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 promised because there are elite performers throughout the squad. I wanted somewhere where they can trust that I might make mistakes at times but they will see beyond that and recognize I can keep pushing and pushing."

Early Experience

Quansah recalls his loan to League One Bristol Rovers in the later part of that season where he made his first senior appearances – 16 of them, to be exact. There were "multiple reality checks", he notes with a grin, beginning with his debut; a heavy loss at Morecambe.

"That was a genuine revelation," Quansah says. "It proved a really valuable chapter in my development because I wanted to make the subsequent progression to playing first-team football. Each match I learned something new. That's when I understood how valuable practical knowledge and match practice was. You could say it influenced my decision in the off-season."