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"From the outside, it seems crazy," the young defender says, as he reflects on his recent summer, when rapid transformation felt like a constant. "However, that's just how it goes ... football is a unpredictable game."

A Quick Recap

Shortly after claiming victory in the U21 European Championship with the English national team at the end of June, Quansah decided to leave 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 finding his feet in a new country and at a team where the turnover was dramatic. The new manager had stepped in to replace 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 first league appearance came on 23 August at home to their opponents and the central defender scored after five minutes, though the goal was overshadowed by sadness. His primary thought was Diogo Jota, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah executed his teammate's signature celebration as a tribute.

"To have a goal on your Bundesliga debut, 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 forgiven for wondering what he had signed up for at Leverkusen. From the promising start in their first league game, they fell to a 2-1 defeat and the following game on 30 August was equally disappointing. The squad threw away comfortable advantages to finish level at 10-man Werder Bremen, the tying goal coming in added time. It was no longer his responsibility for very long. He was sacked on September 1st.

Staying Focused

Quansah does not come across as the kind to worry. If composure characterizes his playing style, it was evident during the conversation he participated in after being selected for the national team for the Wembley friendly against their rivals and the World Cup qualifier against their next opponents.

Quansah has kept his head down under the new Leverkusen manager, the Danish tactician, and persisted in doing what he always intended to do at the club – compete. The new manager has established consistency. His squad have three wins and one draw in their domestic campaign along with draws 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 played every minute of the club's campaign.

National Team Attention

It is something that the England head coach has noted. The England head coach was a admirer previously, including him when he announced his initial selection. After omitting him in June so that Quansah could concentrate on the youth tournament, he gave him a last-minute inclusion in September when the experienced defender was compelled to pull out.

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

Decision Making

"At Leverkusen, the club were interested in me for a while and that's not only from the coach," Quansah explains. "They were interested before he got appointed. So knowing it was a sort of organizational choice and things would remain consistent with whatever coach was to take over ... it was straightforward for me to make that decision.

"We had a lot of players leaving and it's consistently challenging when you lose key players. It has been tough to establish new hierarchies but the results we have had [under Hjulmand] show that we have developed a competitive team with talented individuals. It is requiring patience to build and we are still progressing. 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 enjoyed so many memorable moments – such as the league cup triumph over their London rivals in 2023‑24 when he came on as an late replacement.

Quansah was also a part of 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 multiple matches in the league, his four starts and nine appearances falling short compared to his numbers from the prior season when he started nine games.

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. "But as a young centre-back, you need games and I'm will require extensive playing time to be at my desired level.

"My primary desire was game time and when you are at a team like Liverpool, it's not promised because there are world-class players throughout the squad. I wanted an environment where they can trust that I could errors at certain moments but they will see beyond that and see I can continue developing and improving."

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 "numerous wake-up calls", he says with a grin, starting with his debut; a 5-1 defeat at Morecambe.

"That represented a genuine revelation," Quansah reflects. "It was a really valuable chapter in my development because I aimed to take the subsequent progression to regular senior competition. Every game I gained fresh insights. That's where I knew how crucial experience and match practice was. You could say it influenced my choice in the summer."