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

A Quick Recap

Shortly after winning the European Under-21 Championship with England at the end of June, Quansah decided to leave Liverpool, to go to the Bundesliga side in a £30m deal.

The big fee equalled 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 the previous coach and a number of star performers were departing or already left – chief among them Florian Wirtz, key squad members, Jeremie Frimpong, prominent athletes, Granit Xhaka, established players and Jonathan Tah.

Bundesliga Debut

Quansah's first league appearance came on 23 August at home to Hoffenheim and the centre-half scored after the opening minutes, albeit the goal was undercut by sadness. All he could think about was his former Liverpool teammate, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah executed Jota's gamer celebration as a tribute.

"Scoring on your Bundesliga debut, at home, after the opening moments, is definitely a whirlwind," Quansah states. "However, my dominant emotion was that it was a tribute to Diogo."

Initial Struggles

The player could have been excused for questioning what he had committed to at the German club. After the encouraging beginning in their opening league fixture, they fell to a narrow loss and the following game on 30 August was just as bad. Ten Hag's team 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 1 September.

Maintaining Composure

Quansah doesn't appear to be the type to fret. If calmness characterizes his playing style, it was on show during the conversation he gave after joining England for the Wembley friendly against Wales and the qualifying match against their next opponents.

Quansah has remained focused under the new Leverkusen manager, Kasper Hjulmand, and persisted in doing what he always intended to do at the club – compete. The new manager has established consistency. His team 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 club's campaign.

National Team Attention

It is one that the England head coach has observed. The England head coach was a admirer previously, including him when he named his first squad. After leaving him out in the summer so that Quansah could concentrate on the youth tournament, he gave him a last-minute inclusion in September when the experienced defender was forced to withdraw.

Still to win his first cap, Quansah must have done something right in practice sessions and within the squad environment because he was selected at the outset in Tuchel's squad selection for the upcoming matches, essentially 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 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 knowing it was a sort of internal decision and things would remain consistent with whatever coach was to come in ... it was straightforward for me to make that decision.

"There were a numerous squad members departing and it's consistently challenging when you see important figures leave. It has been difficult to build the leadership groups but the outcomes we have had recently show that we have developed a competitive team with talented individuals. It is going to take time to develop and we are not where we want to be. But if we are achieving positive outcomes and avoiding defeats that is a good place to start."

Leaving Childhood Club

It had to have been a wrench for Quansah to leave his long-time club, his club from the age of five, where he experienced so many memorable moments – such as the Carabao Cup final victory over their London rivals in the previous season when he was introduced as an late replacement.

Quansah was also a part of last season's Premier League title triumph. Yet his perspective of most of that achievement was not the one 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.

Professional Growth

"I consistently developed off top-level professionals around me at my former club and it's been incredibly beneficial for my career," he comments. "But as a young centre-back, you require match experience and I'm will require extensive playing time to be where I want to be.

"My primary desire was regular playing opportunities and when you are at a top-level club, it's not promised because there are elite performers all over the pitch. I wanted somewhere where they can have confidence that I could errors at times but they will see beyond that and recognize I can keep pushing and pushing."

Foundation Building

Quansah recalls his temporary transfer to the lower division club in the later part of that season where he debuted at professional level – multiple matches, to be exact. There were "multiple reality checks", he says with a smile, beginning with his debut; a heavy loss at their opponents.

"That represented a genuine revelation," Quansah says. "It proved a extremely important chapter in my development because I aimed to take the subsequent progression to regular senior competition. Every game I learned something new. That's when I understood how crucial practical knowledge and match practice was. You could say it influenced my choice in the off-season."