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"From the outside, it appears insane," the young defender says, as he reflects on his summer just gone, when rapid transformation felt like a constant. "However, that's just how it goes ... football is a crazy game."

A Brief Summary

Shortly after claiming victory in the European Under-21 Championship with the English national team at the conclusion of June, Quansah opted to depart from Liverpool, to go to Bayer Leverkusen in a £30m deal.

The big fee equalled high expectations as the 22-year-old was charged with finding his feet in a new country and at a team where the churn was dramatic. Erik ten Hag had taken over to replace the previous coach and a host of star performers were gone or going – chief among them Florian Wirtz, Piero Hincapié, influential figures, prominent athletes, Granit Xhaka, Lukas Hradecky and team leaders.

Bundesliga Debut

Quansah's first league appearance came on August 23rd at home to Hoffenheim and the central defender scored after five minutes, albeit the goal was undercut by tragedy. His primary thought was Diogo Jota, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah performed Jota's gamer celebration as a tribute.

"To have a goal on your first Bundesliga match, in front of home fans, after five minutes, is certainly a rollercoaster," Quansah states. "However, my dominant emotion was that it was a homage to Diogo."

Early Challenges

The player could have been excused for questioning what he had signed up for at Leverkusen. From the promising start in their opening league fixture, they succumbed to a 2-1 defeat and the next match on 30 August was equally disappointing. Ten Hag's team 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 no longer his responsibility for much longer. He was sacked on 1 September.

Staying Focused

Quansah doesn't appear to be the kind to worry. If calmness characterizes his playing style, it was on show during the conversation he participated in after joining England for the Wembley friendly against Wales and the World Cup qualifier against Latvia.

Quansah has remained focused under the current coach, Kasper Hjulmand, and continued to do what he originally planned to do at the team – play. Hjulmand has established consistency. His squad have positive results in four league matches along with draws in each of their Champions League ties. But there is a more significant number that motivates the player, even bringing a measure of vindication. It is the one which shows he has played every minute of the club's campaign.

National Team Attention

It is one that the England head coach has noted. The England head coach was a admirer last season, selecting Quansah when he announced his initial selection. After omitting him in June so that Quansah could concentrate on the youth tournament, he gave him a last-minute inclusion in September when the experienced defender was forced to withdraw.

Yet to earn his international debut, Quansah must have done something right in training and around the camp because he was named at the outset in Tuchel's 24‑man group for Wales and Latvia, effectively as a fifth centre-back with Stones fit again. The aspiration is a debut. It is one more milestone he would surely take in his stride.

Decision Making

"At Leverkusen, the club were keen on signing me for a while and that's not only from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah explains. "Their interest existed prior to his arrival. So understanding it was a sort of internal decision and things would remain consistent with which manager was to come in ... it was easy for me to choose this path.

"There were a numerous squad members leaving and it's consistently challenging when you see important figures leave. It has been tough to build the leadership groups but the outcomes we have had [under Hjulmand] show that we have got a competitive team with quality players. It is going to take time to build and we are still progressing. But if we are achieving positive outcomes and not losing 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 team since childhood, where he enjoyed so many significant occasions – such as the Carabao Cup final victory over their London rivals in the previous season when he came on as an extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also a part of last season's Premier League title triumph. Yet his view of most of that achievement was not the one he would have chosen. He was an unused substitute on 25 occasions in the competition, his limited playing time comparing unfavourably with his numbers from the prior season when he featured more regularly.

Career Development

"I consistently developed off top-level professionals around me at Liverpool and it's been so good for my professional development," he says. "However, for a developing defender, you need games and I'm going to be needing extensive playing time to be at my desired level.

"My primary desire was regular playing opportunities and when you are at a top-level club, it's not promised because there are world-class players throughout the squad. I wanted somewhere where they can have confidence that I might make mistakes at times but they will look under 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 "multiple reality checks", he notes with a smile, beginning with his first game; a 5-1 defeat at Morecambe.

"That was a true eye-opener," Quansah says. "It proved a really valuable part of my career because I wanted to make the next step to playing first-team football. Each match I gained fresh insights. That's when I knew how crucial practical knowledge and playing games was. You could say it informed my decision in the summer."