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"From the outside, it seems crazy," the young defender says, as he reflects on his summer just gone, when rapid transformation felt like a constant. "But it is one of them ... football is a unpredictable game."

A Quick Recap

Shortly after winning the U21 European 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 brought big pressure as the 22-year-old was tasked with finding his feet in a foreign land and at a club where the churn was substantial. Erik ten Hag had stepped in to succeed Xabi Alonso and a number of key players were gone or going – including Florian Wirtz, Piero Hincapié, influential figures, prominent athletes, experienced professionals, Lukas Hradecky and team leaders.

Bundesliga Debut

Quansah's first league appearance came on August 23rd at their home ground to Hoffenheim and the centre-half scored after five minutes, though the goal was overshadowed by sadness. His primary thought was his former Liverpool teammate, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah executed Jota's gamer celebration as a mark of respect.

"Scoring on your first Bundesliga match, at home, after the opening moments, is certainly a rollercoaster," Quansah says. "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. After the encouraging beginning in their first league game, they succumbed to a narrow loss and the next match on 30 August was just as bad. Ten Hag's team squandered 2-0 and 3-1 leads to draw 3-3 at 10-man Werder Bremen, the equaliser coming in stoppage time. It was no longer his responsibility for very long. His dismissal came 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 conversation he gave after being selected for the national team for the international friendly against Wales and the qualifying match against their next opponents.

Quansah has remained focused under the new Leverkusen manager, the Danish tactician, and persisted in doing what he always intended to do at the team – compete. The new manager has established consistency. His team have three wins and one draw in four league matches along with ties in each of their Champions League ties. But there is a more significant number that encourages Quansah, even bringing a measure of vindication. It is the one which shows he has been ever-present of the team's season.

International Recognition

It is something that Thomas Tuchel has noted. The England head coach was a fan previously, selecting Quansah when he announced his initial selection. After omitting him in the summer so that Quansah could focus on the Under-21 European Championship, he gave him a last-minute inclusion in the autumn when John Stones was compelled to pull out.

Yet to earn his international debut, Quansah must have done something right in practice sessions and around the camp because he was named at the beginning in Tuchel's squad selection for Wales and Latvia, essentially as a fifth centre-back with the regular starter returning. The dream is a debut. It is one more milestone he would certainly take in his stride.

Decision Making

"With my new club, the team were interested in me for a while and that's not only from the coach," Quansah explains. "They were interested prior to his arrival. So knowing it was a type of internal decision and nothing would change with whatever coach was to take over ... it was straightforward for me to choose this path.

"There were a lot of players leaving 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 recently show that we have developed a good squad with quality players. It is requiring patience to build and we are not where we want to be. But if we are getting results and avoiding defeats that is a solid foundation to start."

Leaving Childhood Club

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 league cup triumph over Chelsea in the previous season when he came on as an extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also a part of the previous campaign's Premier League title triumph. Yet his view 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 limited playing time falling short compared to his statistics from 2023‑24 when he featured more regularly.

Career Development

"I've always learned off some of the best players around me at Liverpool and it's been so good for my career," he comments. "But as a young centre-back, you need games and I'm will require hundreds of games to be at my desired level.

"I just wanted 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 an environment where they can trust that I could errors at times but they will see beyond that and see I can continue developing and improving."

Early Experience

Quansah remembers his temporary transfer to League One Bristol Rovers in the later part of that season where he made his first senior appearances – 16 of them, to be precise. There were "multiple reality checks", he says with a grin, beginning with his first game; a heavy loss at Morecambe.

"That represented a true eye-opener," Quansah says. "It was a really valuable chapter in my development because I wanted to make the subsequent progression to playing first-team football. Every game I gained fresh insights. That's where I knew how valuable experience and match practice was. You could suggest it informed my choice in the summer."