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"From the outside, it seems insane," 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 Brief Summary

Shortly after claiming victory in the European Under-21 Championship with England at the end of June, Quansah decided to leave Liverpool, to join the Bundesliga side in a £30m deal.

The big fee brought big pressure as the young defender was tasked with finding his feet in a new country and at a team where the turnover was dramatic. Erik ten Hag had stepped in to replace Xabi Alonso and a number of key players were gone or going – chief among them several high-profile names, key squad members, Jeremie Frimpong, prominent athletes, Granit Xhaka, Lukas Hradecky and Jonathan Tah.

League Introduction

Quansah's first league appearance came on 23 August at their home ground to their opponents and the central defender found the net after the opening minutes, though the achievement was overshadowed by tragedy. His primary thought was his former Liverpool teammate, who was killed in a car accident. Quansah executed Jota's gamer celebration as a mark of respect.

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

Initial Struggles

The defender could have been forgiven for wondering what he had committed to at the German club. From the promising start in their first league game, they succumbed to a narrow loss and the following game on 30 August was just as bad. The squad squandered 2-0 and 3-1 leads to finish level at 10-man Werder Bremen, the tying goal coming in stoppage time. It was not Ten Hag's team for much longer. His dismissal came on 1 September.

Maintaining Composure

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

Quansah has remained focused under the new Leverkusen manager, the Danish tactician, and continued to do what he originally planned to do at the team – play. The new manager has brought stability. His squad have positive results in four league matches along with ties in each of their European matches. But there is a broader statistic that motivates the player, even bringing a measure of vindication. It is the fact that demonstrates he has played every minute of the team's season.

National Team Attention

It is one that the England head coach has noted. The national team manager was a admirer last season, including him when he announced his initial selection. After omitting him 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 John Stones was forced to withdraw.

Yet to earn his first cap, Quansah must have done something right in training and around the camp because he was selected at the outset in the manager's 24‑man group for the upcoming matches, essentially as a additional defensive option with Stones fit again. The dream is a debut. It is another thing he would surely handle with ease.

Career Choices

"With my new club, the team were keen on signing me for a while and that's not just from the coach," Quansah says. "They were interested prior to his arrival. So knowing it was a sort of organizational choice and things would remain consistent with whatever coach was to take over ... it was easy 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 difficult to build the leadership groups but the results we have had recently show that we have developed a good squad with quality players. It is requiring patience to develop and we are not where we want to be. But if we are getting results and not losing that is a good place to start."

Leaving Childhood Club

It had to have been a wrench for Quansah to depart from Liverpool, his club from the age of five, where he enjoyed so many significant occasions – such as the league cup triumph over Chelsea in 2023‑24 when he was introduced as an extra-time substitute.

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 preferred. He was an non-playing reserve on 25 occasions in the competition, his four starts and nine appearances falling short compared to his numbers from the prior season when he featured more regularly.

Professional Growth

"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 require match experience 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 guaranteed because there are elite performers throughout the squad. I wanted an environment where they can have confidence that I might make mistakes at certain moments but they will see beyond that and see I can continue developing and pushing."

Foundation Building

Quansah remembers his loan to League One Bristol Rovers in the second-half of 2022-23 where he debuted at professional level – 16 of them, to be precise. There were "multiple reality checks", he notes with a grin, beginning 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 next step to regular senior competition. Every game I gained fresh insights. That's where I knew how valuable practical knowledge and playing games was. You could say it influenced my choice in the summer."