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"From the outside, it appears crazy," the young defender remarks, as he reflects on his recent summer, when rapid transformation 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 England at the end of June, Quansah opted to depart from his childhood club, to join the Bundesliga side in a £30m deal.

The big fee equalled high expectations as the young defender was charged with finding his feet in a foreign land and at a team where the churn was substantial. Erik ten Hag had stepped in to replace Xabi Alonso and a host of key players were departing or already left – chief among them several high-profile names, key squad members, influential figures, Amine Adli, Granit Xhaka, established players and Jonathan Tah.

League Introduction

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on August 23rd at home to their opponents and the centre-half scored after the opening minutes, though the goal was undercut by sadness. His primary thought was his former Liverpool teammate, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah performed his teammate's signature celebration as a tribute.

"Scoring on your first Bundesliga match, in front of home fans, after five minutes, is definitely a rollercoaster," Quansah states. "But my overwhelming feeling was that it was a tribute to Diogo."

Initial Struggles

The player could have been excused for questioning what he had signed up for at Leverkusen. After the encouraging beginning in their opening league fixture, they fell to a 2-1 defeat and the following game on 30 August was just as bad. The squad squandered 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. His dismissal came on September 1st.

Staying Focused

Quansah doesn't appear to be the kind to worry. If composure defines his game, it was evident during the conversation he participated in after joining England for the international friendly against Wales and the World Cup qualifier against their next opponents.

Quansah has kept his head down under the new Leverkusen manager, Kasper Hjulmand, and persisted in doing what he originally planned to do at the club – compete. The new manager has established consistency. His squad have positive results in their domestic campaign along with draws in each of their Champions League ties. But there is a more significant number that encourages Quansah, even bringing a measure of vindication. It is the one which shows he has been ever-present of the team's season.

International Recognition

It is one that the England head coach has observed. The England head coach was a fan previously, selecting Quansah when he announced his initial selection. After leaving him out in the summer so that Quansah could concentrate on the youth tournament, he provided him with a late call-up in the autumn when John Stones was compelled to pull out.

Still to win his first cap, Quansah must have impressed sufficiently in training 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 first appearance. It is one more milestone he would certainly handle with ease.

Career Choices

"With my new club, the club were keen on signing me for a considerable time and that's not only from the manager [Ten Hag]," 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 lot of players departing and it's consistently challenging when you see important figures leave. It has been tough to build the leadership groups but the results we have had [under Hjulmand] show that we have developed a good squad with talented individuals. It is requiring patience to develop and we are not where we want to be. But if we are achieving positive outcomes and not losing that is a good place to start."

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 Carabao Cup final victory over their London rivals in the previous season when he was introduced as an late replacement.

Quansah was also a part of the previous campaign's domestic championship success. Yet his view of much of that was not the perspective he would have chosen. He was an non-playing reserve on multiple matches in the competition, his limited playing time falling short compared to his statistics from 2023‑24 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 career," he says. "However, for a developing defender, you need games and I'm going to be needing hundreds of games to be at my desired level.

"My primary desire was regular playing opportunities and when you are at a team like Liverpool, it's not promised because there are elite performers throughout the squad. I wanted somewhere where they can have confidence that I could errors at times but they will see beyond that and recognize I can continue developing and pushing."

Foundation Building

Quansah recalls his temporary transfer to League One Bristol Rovers in the later part of that season where he made his first senior appearances – 16 of them, to be precise. There were "numerous wake-up calls", he notes with a grin, beginning with his debut; a 5-1 defeat at their opponents.

"That represented a genuine revelation," Quansah reflects. "It was a really valuable chapter in my development because I aimed to take the next step to playing first-team football. Every game I gained fresh insights. That's where I understood how valuable practical knowledge and match practice was. You could suggest it influenced my choice in the off-season."