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

A Brief Summary

Shortly after claiming victory in the U21 European 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 equalled big pressure as the young defender was tasked with finding his feet in a foreign land and at a team where the turnover was substantial. Erik ten Hag had taken over to succeed Xabi Alonso and a number of key players were departing or already left – including Florian Wirtz, key squad members, Jeremie Frimpong, prominent athletes, experienced professionals, established players and Jonathan Tah.

League Introduction

Quansah's first league appearance came on 23 August at home to their opponents and the centre-half scored after the opening minutes, albeit the achievement was undercut by tragedy. His primary thought was his former Liverpool teammate, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah performed Jota's gamer celebration as a mark of respect.

"To have a goal on your first Bundesliga match, at home, after the opening moments, is certainly a rollercoaster," Quansah says. "However, my dominant emotion was that it was a tribute to Diogo."

Initial Struggles

The defender could have been excused for questioning what he had signed up for at Leverkusen. After the encouraging beginning in their first league game, they succumbed to a narrow loss and the following game on 30 August was equally disappointing. The squad threw away comfortable advantages to finish level at their reduced opponents, the tying goal coming in stoppage time. It was no longer his responsibility for very long. His dismissal came on September 1st.

Maintaining Composure

Quansah doesn't appear to be the type to fret. If calmness defines his game, it was evident during the conversation he participated in 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, Kasper Hjulmand, and continued to do what he always intended to do at the team – compete. Hjulmand has brought stability. His team have three wins and one draw in their domestic campaign along with ties in each of their Champions League ties. But there is a more significant number that encourages Quansah, even bringing a sense of justification. It is the one which shows he has played every minute of the club's campaign.

National Team Attention

It is something that Thomas Tuchel has observed. The England head coach was a fan last season, including him when he announced his initial selection. After omitting him in the summer so that Quansah could focus on the youth tournament, he gave him a late call-up in September when the experienced defender was compelled to pull out.

Still to win his first cap, Quansah must have done something right in training and around the camp because he was selected at the outset in Tuchel's 24‑man group for Wales and Latvia, effectively as a additional defensive option with Stones fit again. The aspiration is a first appearance. It is another thing he would certainly handle with ease.

Career Choices

"At Leverkusen, the club were keen on signing me for a while and that's not only from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah says. "Their interest existed prior to his arrival. So understanding it was a sort of organizational choice and nothing would change with which manager was to take over ... it was straightforward for me to choose this path.

"There were a numerous squad members departing and it's always tough when you lose key players. It has been difficult to build the leadership groups but the outcomes we have had [under Hjulmand] show that we have developed a competitive team with talented individuals. It is going to take time to build and we are still progressing. But if we are getting results and not losing that is a solid foundation to start."

Leaving Childhood Club

It had to have been a difficult separation for Quansah to depart from Liverpool, his club from the age of five, 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 extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also a part of last season's Premier League title triumph. Yet his perspective of most of that achievement 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 comparing unfavourably with his statistics from the prior season when he started nine games.

Professional Growth

"I've always learned off top-level professionals around me at my former club and it's been incredibly beneficial for my professional development," he says. "However, for a developing defender, you need games and I'm going to be needing hundreds of games to be where I want to be.

"My primary desire was game time and when you are at a team like Liverpool, it's not guaranteed because there are elite performers throughout the squad. I wanted an environment where they can trust that I might make mistakes at certain moments but they will see beyond that and see I can keep pushing and pushing."

Early Experience

Quansah remembers 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 precise. There were "multiple reality checks", he notes with a smile, starting with his debut; a 5-1 defeat at their opponents.

"That was a true eye-opener," Quansah says. "It was a extremely important part of my career because I wanted to make the subsequent progression to regular senior competition. Every game I gained fresh insights. That's when I knew how valuable experience and playing games was. You could say it influenced my choice in the off-season."