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"From the outside, it appears crazy," the young defender says, as he reflects on his summer just gone, when dizzying change felt like a constant. "But it is one of them ... football is a unpredictable game."

A Brief Summary

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 the Bundesliga side in a multi-million pound transfer.

The significant transfer sum brought big pressure as the 22-year-old was tasked with settling in in a new country and at a team where the churn was dramatic. Erik ten Hag had taken over to succeed Xabi Alonso and a host of star performers were departing or already left – including Florian Wirtz, key squad members, influential figures, Amine Adli, Granit Xhaka, Lukas Hradecky and team leaders.

League Introduction

Quansah's first league appearance came on August 23rd at their home ground to their opponents and the centre-half found the net after five minutes, though the goal was overshadowed by sadness. All he could think about was his former Liverpool teammate, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah executed his teammate's signature celebration as a tribute.

"Scoring on your Bundesliga debut, at home, after the opening moments, is definitely a whirlwind," Quansah says. "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 committed to at the German club. After the encouraging beginning in their opening league fixture, they fell to a narrow loss and the following game on August 30th was equally disappointing. The squad threw away comfortable advantages to finish level at their reduced opponents, the tying goal coming in added time. It was not Ten Hag's team for much longer. He was sacked on September 1st.

Maintaining Composure

Quansah doesn't appear to be the type to fret. If composure defines his game, it was on show during the conversation he gave after joining England for the international friendly against Wales and the World Cup qualifier against their next opponents.

Quansah has remained focused under the current coach, the Danish tactician, and continued to do what he originally planned to do at the club – compete. Hjulmand has established consistency. His squad have three wins and one draw in their domestic campaign along with ties 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 observed. The England head coach was a fan last season, selecting Quansah when he announced his initial selection. After omitting him in the summer so that Quansah could concentrate on the Under-21 European Championship, he gave him a late call-up in the autumn when the experienced defender was compelled to pull out.

Still to win his international debut, Quansah must have impressed sufficiently in practice sessions and around the camp because he was selected at the outset in Tuchel's 24‑man group for Wales and Latvia, effectively as a fifth centre-back with the regular starter returning. The dream is a first appearance. It is another thing he would certainly take in his stride.

Decision Making

"At Leverkusen, the team were keen on signing me for a considerable time and that's not just from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah explains. "Their interest existed before he got appointed. So knowing it was a sort of internal decision and nothing would change with whatever coach was to come in ... it was straightforward for me to make that decision.

"We had a numerous squad members departing and it's consistently challenging when you see important figures leave. It has been difficult to establish new hierarchies but the results we have had [under Hjulmand] show that we have got 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 getting results and not losing that is a solid foundation to start."

Liverpool Departure

It had to have been a difficult separation for Quansah to leave Liverpool, his club from the age of five, where he experienced so many memorable moments – such as the league cup triumph over their London rivals in 2023‑24 when he was introduced 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 one he would have preferred. He was an non-playing reserve on 25 occasions in the competition, his four starts and nine appearances comparing unfavourably with his statistics from 2023‑24 when he featured more regularly.

Professional Growth

"I consistently developed off top-level professionals around me at my former club and it's been incredibly beneficial for my career," he says. "But as a young centre-back, you require match experience and I'm going to be needing extensive playing time to be where I want to be.

"My primary desire was game time 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 an environment where they can have confidence that I could errors at times but they will look under that and see I can keep pushing and pushing."

Early Experience

Quansah recalls his loan to the lower division club in the later part of that season where he debuted at professional level – multiple matches, to be precise. There were "multiple reality checks", he notes with a grin, starting with his debut; a 5-1 defeat at their opponents.

"That represented a true eye-opener," Quansah says. "It was a extremely important part of my career because I aimed to take the next step to regular senior competition. Each match I gained fresh insights. That's where I understood how valuable practical knowledge and playing games was. You could suggest it informed my decision in the off-season."