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

A Brief Summary

Days after winning the European Under-21 Championship with the English national team at the end of June, Quansah decided to leave his childhood club, to go to the Bundesliga side in a £30m deal.

The big fee brought big pressure as the young defender was charged with finding his feet in a foreign land and at a team where the turnover 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, Piero Hincapié, Jeremie Frimpong, prominent athletes, Granit Xhaka, established players and team leaders.

Bundesliga Debut

Quansah's first league appearance came on August 23rd at their home ground to Hoffenheim and the centre-half found the net after five minutes, albeit the achievement was overshadowed by tragedy. All he could think about was Diogo Jota, who was killed in a car accident. Quansah executed his teammate's signature celebration as a mark of respect.

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

Early Challenges

The defender could have been forgiven for wondering what he had signed up for at the German club. After the encouraging beginning in their opening league fixture, they fell to a narrow loss and the following game on August 30th was just as bad. Ten Hag's team squandered comfortable advantages to draw 3-3 at their reduced opponents, the equaliser coming in added time. It was no longer his responsibility for very long. His dismissal came on September 1st.

Staying Focused

Quansah doesn't appear to be the kind to worry. If composure characterizes his playing style, it was on show during the interview he participated in after being selected for England for the international friendly against Wales and the qualifying match against Latvia.

Quansah has kept his head down under the current coach, the Danish tactician, and persisted in doing what he originally planned to do at the team – play. Hjulmand has brought stability. His team have positive results 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 measure of vindication. It is the one which shows he has played every minute of the club's campaign.

National Team Attention

It is something that the England head coach has noted. The England head coach was a fan previously, selecting Quansah when he announced his initial selection. After omitting him in June so that Quansah could concentrate on the Under-21 European Championship, he gave him a late call-up in September when John Stones was forced to withdraw.

Yet to earn his first cap, Quansah must have done something right in practice sessions and within the squad environment because he was named at the beginning in Tuchel's 24‑man group for Wales and Latvia, effectively as a fifth centre-back with Stones fit again. The aspiration is a first appearance. It is one more milestone he would surely take in his stride.

Career Choices

"At Leverkusen, 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 knowing it was a sort of organizational choice and things would remain consistent with whatever coach was to come in ... it was easy for me to make that decision.

"There were a lot of players departing and it's consistently challenging when you see important figures leave. It has been difficult to establish new hierarchies but the outcomes we have had recently show that we have got a competitive team with talented individuals. It is going to take time to build and we are still progressing. But if we are getting results and not losing that is a good place to begin from."

Liverpool Departure

It had to have been a difficult separation for Quansah to leave Liverpool, his club from the age of five, where he experienced so many significant occasions – such as the league cup triumph over their London rivals in the previous season when he came on as an late replacement.

Quansah was also a part of the previous campaign's domestic championship success. Yet his perspective of most of that achievement was not the perspective 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 numbers from the prior season when he started nine games.

Professional Growth

"I've always learned off top-level professionals around me at Liverpool and it's been so good for my professional development," he comments. "But as a young centre-back, you need games and I'm will require 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 guaranteed because there are elite performers all over the pitch. I wanted an environment where they can have confidence that I could errors at times but they will see beyond that and see I can keep pushing and pushing."

Foundation Building

Quansah remembers his temporary transfer to the lower division club in the later part of that season where he debuted at professional level – multiple matches, to be exact. There were "numerous wake-up calls", he notes with a smile, starting with his debut; a heavy loss at Morecambe.

"That was a genuine revelation," Quansah says. "It was a really valuable part of my career because I aimed to take the next step to playing first-team football. Every game I gained fresh insights. That's where I knew how valuable practical knowledge and playing games was. You could say it informed my choice in the summer."