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

A Brief Summary

Shortly after winning the European Under-21 Championship with England at the conclusion of June, Quansah opted to depart from Liverpool, to go to the Bundesliga side in a multi-million pound transfer.

The big fee equalled big pressure as the young defender was charged with settling in in a foreign land and at a club where the turnover was dramatic. The new manager had taken over to replace the previous coach and a host of key players were departing or already left – chief among them Florian Wirtz, key squad members, influential figures, Amine Adli, Granit Xhaka, Lukas Hradecky and team leaders.

Bundesliga Debut

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on August 23rd at their home ground to their opponents and the centre-half found the net after the opening minutes, though the goal was overshadowed 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 tribute.

"To have a goal on your first Bundesliga match, in front of home fans, after the opening moments, is certainly a whirlwind," Quansah says. "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 Leverkusen. After the encouraging beginning in their first league game, they fell to a narrow loss and the next match on 30 August was just as bad. Ten Hag's team squandered comfortable advantages to finish level at their reduced opponents, the tying goal coming in stoppage time. It was not Ten Hag's team for much longer. He was sacked on 1 September.

Staying Focused

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

Quansah has remained focused under the new Leverkusen manager, Kasper Hjulmand, and continued to do what he always intended to do at the club – play. Hjulmand has brought stability. His team have positive results in four league matches along with draws in each of their European matches. But there is a more significant number that encourages Quansah, even bringing a measure of vindication. It is the fact that demonstrates he has been ever-present of the club's campaign.

National Team Attention

It is something that Thomas Tuchel has observed. The England head coach was a fan previously, selecting Quansah when he named his first squad. After omitting him in June 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 first cap, Quansah must have done something right in training and within the squad environment because he was selected at the outset in Tuchel's 24‑man group for the upcoming matches, essentially as a additional defensive option with the regular starter returning. The aspiration is a first appearance. It is one more milestone he would certainly take in his stride.

Decision Making

"At Leverkusen, the club were interested in me for a while and that's not only from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah explains. "They were interested prior to his arrival. So understanding it was a type of organizational choice and nothing would change with whatever coach was to take over ... it was easy for me to make that decision.

"We had a lot of players leaving and it's consistently challenging when you lose key players. It has been tough to build the leadership groups but the outcomes we have had recently show that we have got a good squad with quality players. It is going to take time to build and we are still progressing. But if we are achieving positive outcomes 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 his long-time club, his club from the age of five, where he experienced so many memorable moments – such as the Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea in 2023‑24 when he came on as an extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also involved in the previous campaign's Premier League title triumph. Yet his perspective of most of that achievement was not the perspective he would have preferred. He was an non-playing reserve on multiple matches in the competition, his limited playing time comparing unfavourably with his numbers from 2023‑24 when he featured more regularly.

Professional Growth

"I've always learned off some of the best players around me at Liverpool and it's been so good for my professional development," he comments. "However, for a developing defender, you require match experience and I'm will require extensive playing time to be where I want to be.

"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 all over the pitch. I wanted an environment where they can have confidence that I could errors at times but they will see beyond that and see I can continue developing and pushing."

Early Experience

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 "numerous wake-up calls", he says with a grin, starting with his first game; a heavy loss at their opponents.

"That represented a true eye-opener," Quansah reflects. "It was a extremely important chapter in my development because I wanted to make the subsequent progression to playing first-team football. Every game I gained fresh insights. That's where I knew how valuable experience and playing games was. You could suggest it influenced my decision in the summer."