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"To an observer, it appears insane," the young defender says, as he reflects on his summer just gone, when rapid transformation felt like a constant. "But it is one of them ... football is a crazy game."

A Brief Summary

Shortly after winning the European Under-21 Championship with England at the conclusion of June, Quansah decided to leave his childhood club, to join Bayer Leverkusen in a £30m deal.

The significant transfer sum brought big pressure as the 22-year-old was tasked with settling in in a foreign land and at a team where the churn was dramatic. The new manager had taken over to succeed Xabi Alonso and a number of star performers were gone or going – including several high-profile names, Piero Hincapié, Jeremie Frimpong, Amine Adli, experienced professionals, Lukas Hradecky and Jonathan Tah.

Bundesliga Debut

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on August 23rd at their home ground to Hoffenheim and the central defender found the net after the opening minutes, albeit the achievement was undercut by sadness. His primary thought was Diogo Jota, who was killed in a car accident. Quansah executed Jota's gamer celebration as a tribute.

"Scoring on your first Bundesliga match, 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 defender could have been forgiven for wondering what he had committed to at the German club. From the promising start in their opening league fixture, they succumbed to a narrow loss and the following game on August 30th was just as bad. The squad squandered comfortable advantages to finish level at their reduced opponents, the equaliser coming in stoppage time. It was not Ten Hag's team for much longer. His dismissal came on 1 September.

Staying Focused

Quansah does not come across as the type to fret. If calmness defines his game, it was on show during the conversation he gave after being selected for England for the international friendly against Wales and the World Cup qualifier against their next opponents.

Quansah has remained focused under the current coach, Kasper Hjulmand, and continued to do what he originally planned to do at the club – play. Hjulmand has brought stability. His team have three wins and one draw in their domestic campaign along with draws in each of their European matches. But there is a more significant number that encourages Quansah, even bringing a measure of vindication. 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 noted. The England head coach was a admirer 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 the autumn when the experienced defender was compelled to pull out.

Still to win his first cap, Quansah must have done something right in training and around the camp because he was selected at the beginning in the manager's 24‑man group for Wales and Latvia, effectively as a fifth centre-back with Stones fit again. The aspiration is a debut. It is one more milestone he would certainly take in his stride.

Career Choices

"With my new club, the club were keen on signing me for a while and that's not only from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah says. "Their interest existed before he got appointed. So understanding it was a type of internal decision and nothing would change with which manager was to take over ... it was easy 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 build the leadership groups but the results we have had [under Hjulmand] demonstrate that we have developed a competitive team with talented individuals. It is requiring patience to build and we are not where we want to be. But if we are getting results and avoiding defeats that is a solid foundation to begin from."

Leaving Childhood Club

It had to have been a difficult separation for Quansah to depart from his long-time club, his team since childhood, where he experienced so many memorable moments – such as the league cup triumph over Chelsea in 2023‑24 when he was introduced as an late replacement.

Quansah was also a part of last season's domestic championship success. Yet his view of most of that achievement was not the one he would have chosen. He was an non-playing reserve on multiple matches in the league, his limited playing time comparing unfavourably with his numbers from the prior season when he featured more regularly.

Professional Growth

"I consistently developed off some of the best players around me at my former club and it's been incredibly beneficial for my career," he says. "However, for a developing defender, you need games and I'm will require hundreds of games to be where I want to be.

"I just wanted game time and when you are at a top-level club, it's not promised because there are world-class players throughout the squad. I wanted somewhere where they can trust that I might make mistakes at times but they will see beyond that and recognize I can keep pushing and improving."

Foundation Building

Quansah remembers his loan to League One Bristol Rovers in the later part of that season where he made his first senior appearances – 16 of them, to be precise. There were "multiple reality checks", he notes with a smile, starting with his debut; a heavy loss at their opponents.

"That was a genuine revelation," Quansah says. "It was a extremely important part of my career because I aimed to take the next step to playing first-team football. Every game I learned something new. That's when I knew how valuable practical knowledge and playing games was. You could suggest it informed my decision in the summer."