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

A Brief Summary

Days after winning the European Under-21 Championship with England at the end of June, Quansah opted to depart from Liverpool, to join the Bundesliga side in a multi-million pound transfer.

The big fee brought high expectations as the young defender was tasked with finding his feet in a foreign land and at a club where the turnover was substantial. The new manager had taken over to replace the previous coach and a host of key players were departing or already left – chief among them several high-profile names, Piero Hincapié, Jeremie Frimpong, Amine Adli, Granit Xhaka, Lukas Hradecky and Jonathan Tah.

Bundesliga Debut

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on 23 August at home to Hoffenheim and the central defender scored after five minutes, though the goal was undercut by tragedy. All he could think about was Diogo Jota, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah executed his teammate's signature celebration as a mark of respect.

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

Initial Struggles

The player could have been forgiven for wondering what he had committed to at the German club. After the encouraging beginning in their first league game, they succumbed to a narrow loss and the following game on August 30th was just as bad. Ten Hag's team squandered 2-0 and 3-1 leads to finish level at their reduced opponents, the tying goal coming in added time. It was not Ten Hag's team for very long. His dismissal came on September 1st.

Maintaining Composure

Quansah doesn't appear to be the type to fret. If composure defines his game, it was evident during the interview he participated in after joining the national team for the Wembley friendly against Wales and the World Cup qualifier against their next opponents.

Quansah has remained focused under the current coach, the Danish tactician, and persisted in doing what he originally planned to do at the club – play. Hjulmand has established consistency. His squad have three wins and one draw in their domestic campaign along with ties in each of their European matches. But there is a broader statistic that encourages Quansah, even bringing a measure of vindication. It is the fact that demonstrates he has played every minute of the club's campaign.

National Team Attention

It is something that Thomas Tuchel has noted. The England head coach was a fan last season, selecting Quansah when he named his first squad. After leaving him out in June so that Quansah could focus on the youth tournament, he provided him with a late call-up in September when the experienced defender was compelled to pull out.

Yet to earn his international debut, Quansah must have impressed sufficiently in practice sessions and within the squad environment because he was named at the beginning in the manager's 24‑man group for the upcoming matches, effectively as a additional defensive option with Stones fit again. The aspiration is a debut. It is another thing he would certainly handle with ease.

Career Choices

"At Leverkusen, the club were interested in me for a considerable time and that's not only from the coach," Quansah explains. "Their interest existed prior to his arrival. So understanding it was a sort of organizational choice and nothing would change with whatever coach was to take over ... it was straightforward for me to choose this path.

"We had a numerous squad members departing 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] demonstrate that we have developed a competitive team with quality players. It is requiring patience to build and we are still progressing. But if we are achieving positive outcomes and avoiding defeats 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 memorable moments – such as the league cup triumph over their London rivals in 2023‑24 when he was introduced as an late replacement.

Quansah was also a part of last season's Premier League title triumph. Yet his view of most of that achievement was not the perspective he would have preferred. He was an non-playing reserve on multiple matches in the competition, his limited playing time falling short compared to his numbers from 2023‑24 when he started nine games.

Professional Growth

"I consistently developed off some of the best players around me at my former club and it's been so good for my professional development," 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.

"I just wanted game time and when you are at a top-level club, it's not guaranteed 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 see I can keep pushing and pushing."

Foundation Building

Quansah recalls his temporary transfer to League One Bristol Rovers in the later part of that season where he debuted at professional level – multiple matches, to be precise. There were "numerous wake-up calls", he says 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 chapter in my development 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 crucial experience and match practice was. You could suggest it informed my choice in the off-season."