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"From the outside, it appears insane," the young defender says, 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 unpredictable game."

A Quick Recap

Shortly after winning the U21 European Championship with England at the conclusion of June, Quansah opted to depart from Liverpool, to go to Bayer Leverkusen in a multi-million pound transfer.

The significant transfer sum equalled 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 stepped in to replace Xabi Alonso and a host of key players were departing or already left – chief among them Florian Wirtz, Piero Hincapié, influential figures, Amine Adli, Granit Xhaka, Lukas Hradecky and team leaders.

League Introduction

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on 23 August at their home ground to Hoffenheim and the central defender found the net after five minutes, though the achievement was overshadowed by sadness. 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.

"Scoring on your first Bundesliga match, in front of home fans, after the opening moments, is certainly a whirlwind," Quansah states. "However, my dominant emotion was that it was a homage to Diogo."

Initial Struggles

The player could have been forgiven for wondering what he had committed to at the German club. After the encouraging beginning in their first league game, they succumbed to a 2-1 defeat and the following game on August 30th was equally disappointing. Ten Hag's team threw away comfortable advantages to draw 3-3 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 1 September.

Staying Focused

Quansah does not come across as the type to fret. If composure defines his game, it was evident during the interview he participated in after being selected for England for the international friendly against Wales and the World Cup qualifier against their next opponents.

Quansah has kept his head down under the current coach, Kasper Hjulmand, and continued to do what he always intended to do at the club – compete. Hjulmand has established consistency. 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 more significant number that encourages Quansah, even bringing a measure of vindication. It is the one which shows he has played every minute of the team's season.

National Team Attention

It is one that the England head coach has noted. The national team manager was a fan previously, selecting Quansah when he announced his initial selection. After leaving him out in June so that Quansah could concentrate on the Under-21 European Championship, he provided him with a last-minute inclusion in September when John Stones was forced to withdraw.

Still to win his first cap, Quansah must have impressed sufficiently in practice sessions and within the squad environment because he was selected at the outset in Tuchel's squad selection for the upcoming matches, effectively as a additional defensive option with the regular starter returning. The aspiration is a debut. It is one more milestone he would surely take in his stride.

Career Choices

"With my new club, the club were keen on signing me for a while and that's not only from the coach," Quansah says. "Their interest existed before he got appointed. So understanding it was a sort of internal decision and nothing would change with which manager was to take over ... it was straightforward for me to make that decision.

"There were a numerous squad members leaving and it's always tough when you lose key players. It has been difficult to establish new hierarchies but the results 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 good place to begin from."

Leaving Childhood Club

It had to have been a wrench for Quansah to leave Liverpool, his team since childhood, where he enjoyed so many memorable moments – such as the Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea in the previous season when he came on as an late replacement.

Quansah was also a part of last season's domestic championship success. Yet his view of much of that was not the one he would have preferred. He was an non-playing reserve on multiple matches in the league, his four starts and nine appearances comparing unfavourably with his statistics from the prior season when he started nine games.

Career Development

"I consistently developed off some of the best players around me at my former club and it's been incredibly beneficial for my professional development," he comments. "However, for a developing defender, you need games and I'm will require hundreds of games to be where I want to be.

"My primary desire was game time and when you are at a top-level club, it's not guaranteed 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 see I can continue developing and improving."

Early Experience

Quansah remembers his temporary transfer to League One Bristol Rovers in the second-half of 2022-23 where he made his first senior appearances – multiple matches, to be exact. There were "numerous wake-up calls", he says with a smile, beginning with his debut; a heavy loss at Morecambe.

"That was a true eye-opener," Quansah says. "It proved a extremely important chapter in my development because I wanted to make the next step to playing first-team football. Each match I learned something new. That's when I understood how valuable experience and match practice was. You could say it influenced my choice in the summer."