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"To an observer, it appears insane," the young defender says, as he reflects on his summer just gone, when dizzying change felt like a constant. "But it is one of them ... football is a crazy game."

A Brief Summary

Days after claiming victory in the U21 European Championship with the English national team at the conclusion of June, Quansah opted to depart from his childhood club, to go to Bayer Leverkusen in a £30m deal.

The significant transfer sum equalled big pressure as the 22-year-old was charged with settling in in a new country and at a club where the churn was dramatic. The new manager had taken over to replace Xabi Alonso and a host of key players were gone or going – including Florian Wirtz, key squad members, influential figures, prominent athletes, experienced professionals, Lukas Hradecky and Jonathan Tah.

League Introduction

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on August 23rd at home to their opponents and the central defender found the net after five minutes, albeit the goal was undercut by tragedy. His primary thought was his former Liverpool teammate, who was killed in a car accident. Quansah performed Jota's gamer celebration as a mark of respect.

"To have a goal on your Bundesliga debut, in front of home fans, after five minutes, is certainly a rollercoaster," Quansah states. "But my overwhelming feeling was that it was a tribute to Diogo."

Early Challenges

The player could have been excused for questioning what he had signed up for 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 30 August was just as bad. The squad threw away 2-0 and 3-1 leads to finish level at 10-man Werder Bremen, the tying goal coming in added time. It was not Ten Hag's team for much longer. He was sacked on 1 September.

Staying Focused

Quansah does not come across as the kind to worry. If composure characterizes his playing style, it was on show during the conversation he gave after joining the national team for the Wembley friendly against Wales and the qualifying match against their next opponents.

Quansah has kept his head down under the current coach, the Danish tactician, and continued to do what he always intended to do at the team – play. The new manager has brought stability. His team have positive results in four league matches along with ties in each of their European matches. But there is a more significant number that motivates the player, even bringing a measure of vindication. It is the fact that demonstrates he has played every minute of the club's campaign.

National Team Attention

It is something that the England head coach has observed. The national team manager was a admirer last season, selecting Quansah when he announced his initial selection. After leaving him out in the summer so that Quansah could focus on the Under-21 European Championship, he provided him with a last-minute inclusion in the autumn when the experienced defender was forced to withdraw.

Still to win his international debut, Quansah must have done something right in practice sessions and within the squad environment because he was named at the outset in the manager's squad selection for the upcoming matches, effectively as a fifth centre-back with Stones fit again. The aspiration is a debut. It is another thing he would certainly take in his stride.

Career Choices

"With my new club, the team were keen on signing me for a considerable time and that's not only from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah says. "Their interest existed before he got appointed. So understanding it was a sort of internal decision and things would remain consistent with whatever coach was to come in ... it was straightforward for me to choose this path.

"There were a lot of players leaving and it's consistently challenging when you see important figures leave. It has been tough to establish new hierarchies but the results we have had recently demonstrate that we have developed a good squad with talented individuals. It is requiring patience to develop and we are still progressing. But if we are getting results and avoiding defeats that is a solid foundation to begin from."

Leaving Childhood Club

It had to have been a wrench for Quansah to depart from Liverpool, his team since childhood, where he experienced so many significant occasions – such as the Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea in 2023‑24 when he came on as an extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also a part of the previous campaign's domestic championship success. Yet his view of most of that achievement was not the perspective he would have preferred. He was an non-playing reserve on 25 occasions in the competition, his limited playing time falling short compared to his statistics from 2023‑24 when he featured more regularly.

Professional Growth

"I consistently developed off top-level professionals around me at my former club and it's been so good for my professional development," he comments. "But as a young centre-back, you require match experience and I'm going to be needing 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 guaranteed because there are world-class players 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 keep pushing and pushing."

Foundation Building

Quansah remembers his temporary transfer to League One Bristol Rovers in the later part of that season where he debuted at professional level – 16 of them, to be exact. There were "numerous wake-up calls", he notes with a smile, beginning with his first game; a heavy loss at their opponents.

"That represented a genuine revelation," Quansah says. "It proved a extremely important part of my career because I wanted to make the subsequent progression to playing first-team football. Each match I learned something new. That's where I knew how crucial practical knowledge and match practice was. You could suggest it influenced my choice in the off-season."