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"From the outside, it seems insane," the young defender says, as he reflects on his recent summer, 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 decided to leave Liverpool, to go to the Bundesliga side in a £30m deal.

The significant transfer sum equalled high expectations as the young defender was charged with finding his feet in a foreign land and at a club where the churn was dramatic. Erik ten Hag had stepped in to succeed Xabi Alonso and a number of star performers were departing or already left – including several high-profile names, key squad members, Jeremie Frimpong, 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, albeit the goal was overshadowed by tragedy. All he could think about was his former Liverpool teammate, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah performed Jota's gamer celebration as a mark of respect.

"To have a goal on your Bundesliga debut, at home, after the opening moments, is definitely a rollercoaster," Quansah states. "But my overwhelming feeling was that it was a homage to Diogo."

Early Challenges

The player 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 fell to a 2-1 defeat and the following game on 30 August was just as bad. Ten Hag's team threw away 2-0 and 3-1 leads to finish level at their reduced opponents, the equaliser coming in stoppage time. It was no longer his responsibility for very long. He was sacked on 1 September.

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 participated in after being selected for the national team for the international friendly against Wales and the qualifying match against Latvia.

Quansah has remained focused under the current coach, Kasper Hjulmand, and persisted in doing what he always intended to do at the club – compete. Hjulmand has brought stability. His squad have three wins and one draw in four league matches along with ties in each of their Champions League ties. But there is a more significant number that motivates the player, even bringing a sense of justification. It is the fact that demonstrates he has played every minute of the team's season.

International Recognition

It is one that Thomas Tuchel has observed. The national team manager was a fan previously, selecting Quansah when he named his first squad. After omitting him in the summer so that Quansah could focus on the youth tournament, he gave him a late call-up in September when the experienced defender was compelled to pull out.

Still to win his international debut, Quansah must have done something right in training and within the squad environment because he was named at the beginning in the manager's 24‑man group for the upcoming matches, essentially as a additional defensive option with Stones fit again. The aspiration is a first appearance. It is another thing he would certainly take in his stride.

Career Choices

"At Leverkusen, the club were interested in me for a considerable time and that's not only from the coach," Quansah says. "They were interested prior to his arrival. So knowing it was a sort of internal decision and nothing would change with which manager was to take over ... it was straightforward for me to make that decision.

"We had a lot of players departing and it's always tough when you lose key players. It has been difficult to establish new hierarchies but the results we have had [under Hjulmand] demonstrate 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 achieving positive outcomes and not losing that is a good place 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 league cup triumph over Chelsea in the previous season when he came on as an extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also a part of the previous campaign's domestic championship success. Yet his perspective of most of that achievement was not the one he would have preferred. He was an non-playing reserve on multiple matches in the league, his four starts and nine appearances falling short compared to his statistics from 2023‑24 when he featured more regularly.

Career Development

"I've always learned off top-level professionals around me at Liverpool and it's been incredibly beneficial for my career," he comments. "However, for a developing defender, you need games and I'm will require extensive playing time to be where I want to be.

"My primary desire was game time and when you are at a top-level club, it's not promised because there are elite performers all over the pitch. I wanted an environment where they can trust that I could errors at times but they will see beyond that and recognize I can continue developing and improving."

Foundation Building

Quansah recalls his temporary transfer 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 grin, beginning with his debut; a 5-1 defeat at their opponents.

"That represented a genuine revelation," Quansah says. "It was a extremely important part of my career because I wanted to make the next step to regular senior competition. Each match I gained fresh insights. That's when I knew how crucial practical knowledge and match practice was. You could suggest it influenced my decision in the off-season."