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"From the outside, it seems crazy," the young defender remarks, as he looks back on his summer just gone, when dizzying change felt like a constant. "But it is one of them ... football is a unpredictable game."

A Quick Recap

Days after winning the European Under-21 Championship with England at the end of June, Quansah decided to leave Liverpool, to join Bayer Leverkusen in a multi-million pound transfer.

The significant transfer sum brought high expectations as the young defender was tasked with settling in in a new country and at a team where the turnover was substantial. Erik ten Hag had taken over to succeed Xabi Alonso and a host of key players were gone or going – chief among them Florian Wirtz, Piero Hincapié, Jeremie Frimpong, Amine Adli, experienced professionals, Lukas Hradecky and Jonathan Tah.

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, albeit the achievement was undercut by tragedy. All he could think about was Diogo Jota, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah performed 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 definitely a whirlwind," Quansah states. "But my overwhelming feeling was that it was a tribute to Diogo."

Early Challenges

The defender could have been forgiven for wondering what he had signed up for at the German club. From the promising start in their opening league fixture, they fell to a narrow loss and the next match on 30 August was just as bad. The squad threw away comfortable advantages to finish level at their reduced opponents, the tying goal coming in added time. It was not Ten Hag's team for much longer. His dismissal came on September 1st.

Maintaining Composure

Quansah does not come across as the type to fret. If composure characterizes his playing style, it was evident during the interview he participated in after being selected for England for the Wembley friendly against their rivals 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. Hjulmand 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 motivates the player, even bringing a sense of justification. It is the one which shows he has played every minute of the club's campaign.

International Recognition

It is one that the England head coach has observed. The England head coach was a admirer previously, selecting Quansah when he announced his initial selection. After leaving him out in June so that Quansah could concentrate on the youth tournament, he gave him a late call-up in the autumn when John Stones 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 24‑man group for Wales and Latvia, essentially as a fifth centre-back with Stones fit again. The aspiration is a debut. It is one more milestone he would certainly handle with ease.

Decision Making

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

"There were a numerous squad members departing and it's consistently challenging when you lose key players. It has been tough to establish new hierarchies but the outcomes we have had recently demonstrate that we have developed a competitive team with talented individuals. 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 good place to begin from."

Leaving Childhood Club

It had to have been a wrench for Quansah to leave his long-time club, his team since childhood, where he experienced so many significant occasions – such as the league cup triumph over their London rivals in 2023‑24 when he came on as an late replacement.

Quansah was also involved in last season's Premier League title triumph. Yet his perspective of much of that 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 started nine games.

Professional Growth

"I consistently developed off top-level professionals 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 extensive playing time to be at my desired level.

"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 recognize I can keep pushing and pushing."

Foundation Building

Quansah recalls his loan to the lower division club in the second-half of 2022-23 where he made his first senior appearances – multiple matches, to be exact. There were "multiple reality checks", he says with a smile, starting with his first game; a heavy loss at their opponents.

"That was a true eye-opener," Quansah reflects. "It proved a really valuable chapter in my development because I aimed to take the next step to regular senior competition. Each match I gained fresh insights. That's where I understood how crucial experience and playing games was. You could suggest it influenced my decision in the off-season."