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

A Quick Recap

Days after claiming victory in the European Under-21 Championship with England at the conclusion of June, Quansah opted to depart from his childhood club, to go to the Bundesliga side in a multi-million pound transfer.

The big fee equalled high expectations as the 22-year-old was charged with finding his feet in a new country and at a club where the churn was dramatic. The new manager had taken over to replace Xabi Alonso and a host of star performers were gone or going – chief among them Florian Wirtz, key squad members, influential figures, Amine Adli, Granit Xhaka, established players and team leaders.

Bundesliga Debut

Quansah's first league appearance came on August 23rd at home to their opponents and the central defender found the net after five minutes, though the achievement was overshadowed by sadness. All he could think about was Diogo Jota, who was killed in a car accident. Quansah performed Jota's gamer celebration as a mark of respect.

"Scoring on your first Bundesliga match, at home, after five minutes, is definitely a rollercoaster," Quansah says. "However, my dominant emotion was that it was a tribute to Diogo."

Early Challenges

The defender could have been excused for questioning what he had committed to at the German club. After the encouraging beginning in their first league game, they fell to a 2-1 defeat and the next match on 30 August was equally disappointing. The squad squandered 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 characterizes his playing style, it was on show during the interview he gave after joining the national team for the Wembley friendly against their rivals and the World Cup qualifier against their next opponents.

Quansah has remained focused under the new Leverkusen manager, the Danish tactician, and persisted in doing what he always intended to do at the club – compete. The new manager has established consistency. His squad have positive results in their domestic campaign 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 one which shows he has been ever-present of the team's season.

International Recognition

It is one that Thomas Tuchel has observed. The national team manager was a admirer last season, selecting Quansah when he announced his initial selection. 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.

Yet to earn his first cap, Quansah must have done something right in practice sessions and within the squad environment because he was selected at the outset in Tuchel's squad selection for Wales and Latvia, essentially as a fifth centre-back with Stones fit again. The aspiration is a first appearance. It is one more milestone he would surely handle with ease.

Decision Making

"With my new club, the club were interested in me for a considerable time and that's not just from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah says. "They were interested prior to his arrival. So understanding it was a sort of organizational choice and things would remain consistent 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 consistently challenging when you lose key players. It has been tough to establish new hierarchies but the results we have had [under Hjulmand] show that we have got a good squad with quality players. It is going to take time to develop and we are not where we want to be. But if we are getting results and avoiding defeats that is a good place to start."

Leaving Childhood Club

It had to have been a wrench for Quansah to leave his long-time club, his team since childhood, where he enjoyed so many significant occasions – such as the Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea in the previous season when he came on 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 perspective he would have preferred. He was an unused substitute on 25 occasions in the competition, his four starts and nine appearances falling short compared to his statistics from the prior season when he featured more regularly.

Career Development

"I've always learned off top-level professionals around me at my former club and it's been so good for my professional development," he comments. "However, for a developing defender, you need games and I'm going to be needing extensive playing time to be at my desired level.

"My primary desire was game time and when you are at a team like Liverpool, it's not promised because there are world-class players throughout the squad. 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 pushing."

Foundation Building

Quansah recalls his temporary transfer to the lower division club in the later part of that season where he made his first senior appearances – 16 of them, to be exact. There were "numerous wake-up calls", he notes with a grin, starting with his debut; a 5-1 defeat at their opponents.

"That was a genuine revelation," Quansah says. "It proved a really valuable part of my career because I aimed to take the next step to playing first-team football. Each match I learned something new. That's where I understood how valuable experience and playing games was. You could suggest it informed my decision in the off-season."