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"To an observer, it seems crazy," the young defender says, as he reflects on his recent summer, when rapid transformation felt like a constant. "However, that's just how it goes ... football is a crazy game."

A Quick Recap

Days after claiming victory in the European Under-21 Championship with England at the end of June, Quansah decided to leave his childhood club, to join Bayer Leverkusen in a multi-million pound transfer.

The big fee brought high expectations as the 22-year-old was charged with settling in in a foreign land and at a club where the churn was dramatic. The new manager had stepped in to replace the previous coach and a host of star performers were gone or going – including several high-profile names, key squad members, Jeremie Frimpong, prominent athletes, Granit Xhaka, established players and Jonathan Tah.

League Introduction

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on August 23rd at home to Hoffenheim and the central defender found the net after the opening minutes, albeit the achievement 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 tribute.

"Scoring on your Bundesliga debut, at home, after five minutes, is certainly a whirlwind," Quansah says. "However, my dominant emotion was that it was a homage to Diogo."

Early Challenges

The defender could have been excused for questioning what he had signed up for at the German club. After the encouraging beginning in their first league game, they fell to a 2-1 defeat and the following game on August 30th was just as bad. The squad threw away 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.

Maintaining Composure

Quansah does not come across as the kind to worry. If calmness characterizes his playing style, it was evident during the interview he gave after being selected for England for the international friendly against their rivals and the qualifying match against Latvia.

Quansah has kept his head down under the new Leverkusen manager, the Danish tactician, and persisted in doing what he always intended to do at the team – compete. Hjulmand has brought stability. His team have three wins and one draw in their domestic campaign along with draws in each of their Champions League ties. But there is a broader statistic that encourages Quansah, even bringing a sense of justification. It is the fact that demonstrates he has played every minute of the club's campaign.

National Team Attention

It is something that the England head coach has observed. The national team manager was a fan previously, selecting Quansah when he announced his initial selection. After leaving him out in June 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 forced to withdraw.

Yet to earn his international debut, Quansah must have impressed sufficiently in practice sessions and around the camp because he was selected at the beginning in the manager's squad selection for the upcoming matches, effectively as a fifth centre-back with Stones fit again. The aspiration is a first appearance. It is another thing he would certainly handle with ease.

Career Choices

"At Leverkusen, the club were keen on signing me for a considerable time and that's not only from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah says. "Their interest existed before he got appointed. So knowing it was a sort of internal decision and things would remain consistent with which manager was to come in ... it was easy for me to choose this path.

"We had a lot of players leaving 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 recently show that we have developed a good squad with talented individuals. It is requiring patience to develop and we are still progressing. But if we are getting results and not losing that is a solid foundation to start."

Liverpool Departure

It had to have been a wrench for Quansah to leave his long-time club, his club from the age of five, where he enjoyed so many significant occasions – such as the league cup triumph over their London rivals in the previous season when he came on as an extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also involved in the previous campaign's domestic championship success. Yet his view of most of that achievement was not the one 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 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 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.

"I just wanted regular playing opportunities and when you are at a team like Liverpool, it's not promised because there are elite performers all over the pitch. I wanted somewhere where they can have confidence that I might make mistakes at certain moments but they will see beyond that and see I can keep pushing and pushing."

Foundation Building

Quansah remembers his loan to League One Bristol Rovers in the later part of that season where he debuted at professional level – 16 of them, to be precise. There were "numerous wake-up calls", he notes with a smile, beginning with his first game; a 5-1 defeat at their opponents.

"That was a genuine revelation," Quansah reflects. "It proved a really valuable chapter in my development because I aimed to take the subsequent progression to regular senior competition. Each match I gained fresh insights. That's where I understood how crucial practical knowledge and playing games was. You could suggest it influenced my decision in the off-season."