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"From the outside, it seems crazy," the young defender remarks, 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 Quick Recap

Shortly after winning the U21 European Championship with the English national team at the end of June, Quansah opted to depart from Liverpool, to join Bayer Leverkusen in a multi-million pound transfer.

The big fee equalled high expectations as the 22-year-old was tasked with settling in in a foreign land and at a club where the churn was dramatic. The new manager had taken over to succeed Xabi Alonso and a host of key players were departing or already left – chief among them Florian Wirtz, key squad members, influential figures, Amine Adli, experienced professionals, established players and Jonathan Tah.

Bundesliga Debut

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on 23 August at their home ground to Hoffenheim and the centre-half found the net after the opening minutes, albeit the achievement was undercut by sadness. All he could think about was Diogo Jota, who was killed in a car accident. Quansah performed his teammate's signature celebration as a tribute.

"Scoring on your first Bundesliga match, at home, after the opening moments, is definitely a rollercoaster," Quansah states. "However, my dominant emotion was that it was a tribute to Diogo."

Early Challenges

The player could have been excused for questioning what he had committed to at Leverkusen. From the promising start in their opening league fixture, they succumbed to a 2-1 defeat and the following game on August 30th was just as bad. Ten Hag's team threw away comfortable advantages to finish level at 10-man Werder Bremen, the equaliser coming in added time. It was no longer his responsibility for very long. He was sacked on September 1st.

Maintaining Composure

Quansah does not come across as the kind to worry. If calmness defines his game, it was on show during the conversation he participated in after being selected for England for the international friendly against Wales and the World Cup qualifier against Latvia.

Quansah has remained focused under the new Leverkusen manager, Kasper Hjulmand, and persisted in doing what he originally planned to do at the team – compete. The new manager has brought stability. His squad have three wins and one draw in four league matches along with draws in each of their Champions League ties. But there is a more significant number that encourages Quansah, even bringing a sense of justification. It is the fact that demonstrates he has been ever-present of the club's campaign.

International Recognition

It is one that Thomas Tuchel has noted. The national team manager 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 Under-21 European Championship, he gave him a late call-up in September when the experienced defender was compelled to pull out.

Still to win his first cap, Quansah must have impressed sufficiently in training and around the camp because he was selected at the beginning in Tuchel's squad selection for the upcoming matches, essentially as a additional defensive option with Stones fit again. The aspiration is a debut. It is another thing he would surely take in his stride.

Career Choices

"With my new club, the club were interested in me for a while and that's not only from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah says. "They were interested before he got appointed. So knowing it was a sort of organizational choice and nothing would change with which manager was to take over ... it was straightforward for me to choose this path.

"There were a lot of players departing and it's always tough when you see important figures leave. It has been tough to establish new hierarchies but the outcomes we have had recently demonstrate that we have got a competitive team with quality players. It is going to take time to develop and we are still progressing. But if we are getting results and not losing that is a solid foundation to begin from."

Liverpool Departure

It had to have been a difficult separation for Quansah to depart from his long-time club, his club from the age of five, 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 extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also involved in last season'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 25 occasions in the league, his limited playing time comparing unfavourably with his statistics from the prior season when he featured more regularly.

Career Development

"I've always learned off some of the best players around me at my former club and it's been so good for my career," he comments. "However, for a developing defender, you require match experience and I'm will require 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 guaranteed because there are world-class players all over the pitch. I wanted somewhere where they can have confidence that I could errors at times but they will see beyond that and see I can continue developing and improving."

Early Experience

Quansah remembers his loan to League One Bristol Rovers in the second-half of 2022-23 where he debuted at professional level – multiple matches, to be exact. There were "multiple reality checks", he says with a smile, beginning with his first game; a heavy loss at Morecambe.

"That was a genuine revelation," Quansah says. "It proved a extremely important part of my career because I wanted to make the subsequent progression to playing first-team football. Each match I gained fresh insights. That's where I understood how valuable experience and match practice was. You could say it informed my choice in the off-season."