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"From the outside, it seems insane," the young defender remarks, as he looks back on his summer just gone, when dizzying change felt like a constant. "However, that's just how it goes ... football is a crazy game."

A Quick Recap

Shortly after claiming victory in the European Under-21 Championship with the English national team at the end of June, Quansah decided to leave his childhood club, to join Bayer Leverkusen in a £30m deal.

The significant transfer sum equalled high expectations as the 22-year-old was charged with finding his feet in a foreign land and at a club where the churn was substantial. The new manager had taken over to replace Xabi Alonso and a number of key players were departing or already left – chief among them Florian Wirtz, key squad members, Jeremie Frimpong, Amine Adli, experienced professionals, established players and team leaders.

League Introduction

Quansah's first league appearance came on 23 August at their home ground to Hoffenheim and the central defender scored after the opening minutes, though the goal was undercut by sadness. All he could think about was his former Liverpool teammate, who was killed in a car accident. Quansah performed his teammate's signature celebration as a tribute.

"To have a goal on your first Bundesliga match, at home, after five minutes, is definitely a rollercoaster," Quansah states. "But my overwhelming feeling was that it was a homage to Diogo."

Early Challenges

The player could have been excused for questioning what he had committed to at the German club. From the promising start in their opening league fixture, they succumbed to a 2-1 defeat and the next match on August 30th was equally disappointing. Ten Hag's team threw away 2-0 and 3-1 leads to draw 3-3 at 10-man Werder Bremen, the equaliser coming in stoppage time. It was not Ten Hag's team for much longer. He was sacked on September 1st.

Maintaining Composure

Quansah doesn't appear to be the type to fret. If composure defines his game, it was evident during the interview he participated in after joining England for the Wembley friendly against their rivals and the qualifying match against Latvia.

Quansah has remained focused under the new Leverkusen manager, the Danish tactician, and persisted in doing what he originally planned to do at the team – compete. Hjulmand has brought stability. His squad 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 motivates the player, even bringing a sense of justification. It is the fact that demonstrates he has played every minute of the team's season.

International Recognition

It is something that the England head coach has observed. The national team manager was a admirer last season, selecting Quansah when he named his first squad. After omitting him in the summer so that Quansah could concentrate on the Under-21 European Championship, he gave him a last-minute inclusion in September when the experienced defender was forced to withdraw.

Still to win his international debut, Quansah must have impressed sufficiently in training and within the squad environment because he was named at the outset in the manager's 24‑man group for the upcoming matches, effectively as a additional defensive option with the regular starter returning. The aspiration is a first appearance. It is another thing he would surely handle with ease.

Decision Making

"With my new club, the club were keen on signing me for a considerable time and that's not just from the coach," Quansah says. "They were interested before he got appointed. 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 make that decision.

"We had a numerous squad members departing and it's consistently challenging 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 developed a competitive team with quality players. It is going to take time to develop and we are not where we want to be. But if we are achieving positive outcomes 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 enjoyed so many memorable moments – such as the Carabao Cup final victory over their London rivals in 2023‑24 when he was introduced 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 competition, his limited playing time falling short compared to his numbers from the prior season when he featured more regularly.

Career Development

"I've always learned off top-level professionals around me at Liverpool and it's been incredibly beneficial for my professional development," he comments. "However, for a developing defender, you need games and I'm going to be needing extensive playing time to be at my desired level.

"I just wanted regular playing opportunities and when you are at a team like Liverpool, it's not guaranteed because there are world-class players throughout the squad. I wanted somewhere where they can trust that I could errors at certain moments but they will see beyond that and see I can continue developing and improving."

Early Experience

Quansah recalls his temporary transfer to League One Bristol Rovers in the later part of that season where he debuted at professional level – multiple matches, to be exact. There were "multiple reality checks", he says with a grin, starting with his debut; a 5-1 defeat at their opponents.

"That represented a true eye-opener," Quansah says. "It proved a extremely important chapter in my development because I aimed to take the subsequent progression to playing first-team football. Each match I learned something new. That's where I understood how valuable practical knowledge and playing games was. You could say it informed my decision in the summer."