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"To an observer, it seems crazy," the young defender remarks, as he reflects on his recent summer, when dizzying change felt like a constant. "However, that's just how it goes ... football is a unpredictable game."

A Quick Recap

Days after claiming victory in the European Under-21 Championship with the English national team at the conclusion of June, Quansah decided to leave his childhood club, to join the Bundesliga side in a multi-million pound transfer.

The big fee brought high expectations as the 22-year-old was tasked with finding his feet in a new country and at a club where the churn was dramatic. Erik ten Hag had taken over to replace the previous coach and a host of star performers were gone or going – including Florian Wirtz, Piero Hincapié, influential figures, Amine Adli, Granit Xhaka, established players and Jonathan Tah.

Bundesliga Debut

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on August 23rd at their home ground to Hoffenheim and the centre-half scored after the opening minutes, albeit the achievement was overshadowed by tragedy. All he could think about was his former Liverpool teammate, 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, in front of home fans, after five minutes, is certainly a rollercoaster," Quansah says. "However, my dominant emotion was that it was a tribute to Diogo."

Early Challenges

The player could have been excused for questioning what he had committed to at the German club. After the encouraging beginning in their first league game, they fell to a narrow loss and the next match on August 30th was equally disappointing. The squad squandered 2-0 and 3-1 leads to draw 3-3 at their reduced opponents, the equaliser coming in stoppage time. It was not Ten Hag's team for very long. His dismissal came on 1 September.

Staying Focused

Quansah doesn't appear to be the kind to worry. If composure defines his game, it was evident during the interview he gave after joining the national team for the international friendly against Wales and the qualifying match against Latvia.

Quansah has kept his head down under the new Leverkusen manager, the Danish tactician, and continued to do what he originally planned to do at the team – compete. Hjulmand has brought stability. His squad have three wins and one draw in four league matches along with ties in each of their European matches. But there is a broader statistic that motivates the player, 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 observed. The national team manager was a admirer previously, including him when he named his first squad. After leaving him out in June so that Quansah could focus on the Under-21 European Championship, he provided him with a late call-up in September when John Stones was compelled to pull out.

Yet to earn his first cap, Quansah must have impressed sufficiently in training and around the camp because he was named at the outset in the manager's 24‑man group for Wales and Latvia, essentially as a additional defensive option with Stones fit again. The dream is a debut. It is another thing he would certainly handle with ease.

Career Choices

"At Leverkusen, the team were interested in 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 understanding it was a sort of organizational choice and things would remain consistent with which manager was to come in ... it was straightforward for me to make that decision.

"We had a lot of players departing and it's always tough when you see important figures leave. It has been tough to establish new hierarchies but the results we have had [under Hjulmand] show that we have developed a good squad with quality players. It is requiring patience to develop and we are not where we want to be. But if we are getting results and avoiding defeats that is a good place to begin from."

Liverpool Departure

It had to have been a wrench for Quansah to depart from Liverpool, 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 was introduced as an extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also a part of last season's domestic championship success. Yet his perspective of much of that was not the one he would have preferred. He was an non-playing reserve on multiple matches in the competition, his four starts and nine appearances falling short compared to his numbers from 2023‑24 when he started nine games.

Career Development

"I consistently developed off top-level professionals around me at my former club and it's been so good for my professional development," he says. "But as a young centre-back, you need games and I'm will require hundreds of games 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 throughout the squad. I wanted somewhere where they can trust that I might make mistakes at times but they will look under that and recognize I can keep pushing and improving."

Foundation Building

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 exact. There were "numerous wake-up calls", he says with a grin, starting with his debut; a 5-1 defeat at their opponents.

"That represented a true eye-opener," Quansah reflects. "It was a really valuable part of my career because I wanted to make the subsequent progression to playing first-team football. 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."