🔗 Share this article

"To an observer, it appears crazy," the young defender remarks, as he looks back on his summer just gone, when dizzying change felt like a constant. "However, that's just how it goes ... football is a crazy game."

A Quick Recap

Shortly after winning the European Under-21 Championship with the English national team at the conclusion of June, Quansah decided to leave Liverpool, to join the Bundesliga side in a multi-million pound transfer.

The significant transfer sum equalled big pressure as the 22-year-old was tasked with finding his feet in a foreign land and at a club where the turnover was dramatic. Erik ten Hag had taken over to replace the previous coach and a number of star performers were gone or going – including several high-profile names, Piero Hincapié, influential figures, Amine Adli, Granit Xhaka, Lukas Hradecky and Jonathan Tah.

League Introduction

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on 23 August at home to their opponents and the centre-half found the net after five minutes, though the achievement was overshadowed by tragedy. His primary thought was Diogo Jota, who was tragically lost in a road incident. Quansah performed Jota's gamer celebration as a tribute.

"To have a goal on your Bundesliga debut, in front of home fans, after the opening moments, is certainly a whirlwind," Quansah states. "But my overwhelming feeling 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 Leverkusen. From the promising start in their first league game, they succumbed to a 2-1 defeat and the following game on 30 August was just as bad. The squad threw away comfortable advantages to draw 3-3 at 10-man Werder Bremen, the tying goal coming in added time. It was not Ten Hag's team for much longer. He was sacked on September 1st.

Maintaining Composure

Quansah doesn't appear to be the type to fret. If calmness defines his game, it was on show during the interview he gave after joining England for the international friendly against Wales and the qualifying match against Latvia.

Quansah has kept his head down under the current coach, Kasper Hjulmand, and continued to do what he always intended to do at the club – compete. Hjulmand has established consistency. His squad have positive results in four league matches 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 team's season.

International Recognition

It is one that Thomas Tuchel has noted. The England head coach was a admirer previously, including him when he named his first squad. After leaving him out in June so that Quansah could focus on the Under-21 European Championship, he gave him a last-minute inclusion in the autumn when John Stones was forced to withdraw.

Yet to earn his first cap, Quansah must have impressed sufficiently in practice sessions and around the camp because he was selected at the beginning in the manager's 24‑man group for the upcoming matches, essentially as a fifth centre-back with Stones fit again. The dream is a debut. It is another thing he would certainly take in his stride.

Decision Making

"With my new club, the team were interested in me for a while and that's not just from the manager [Ten Hag]," Quansah explains. "Their interest existed prior to his arrival. So understanding it was a sort of internal decision and things would remain consistent with which manager was to come in ... it was straightforward 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 tough to build the leadership groups but the results we have had recently show that we have developed a good squad with quality players. It is going to take time to develop and we are still progressing. 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 club from the age of five, where he enjoyed so many significant occasions – such as the Carabao Cup final victory over their London rivals in the previous season when he came on as an late replacement.

Quansah was also involved in last season's Premier League title triumph. Yet his view of much of that was not the one he would have chosen. He was an unused substitute on 25 occasions in the league, his four starts and nine appearances comparing unfavourably with his numbers from 2023‑24 when he started nine games.

Career Development

"I consistently developed off some of the best players around me at my former club and it's been incredibly beneficial for my professional development," he comments. "But as a young centre-back, you require match experience and I'm will require extensive playing time to be where I want to be.

"My primary desire was regular playing opportunities and when you are at a team like Liverpool, it's not guaranteed because there are world-class players throughout the squad. I wanted somewhere where they can have confidence that I might make mistakes at times but they will see beyond that and recognize I can continue developing and improving."

Early Experience

Quansah remembers his temporary transfer to League One Bristol Rovers in the second-half of 2022-23 where he debuted at professional level – multiple matches, to be precise. There were "numerous wake-up calls", he says with a smile, beginning with his first game; a 5-1 defeat at their opponents.

"That represented a genuine revelation," Quansah reflects. "It was a really valuable chapter in my development because I wanted to make the next step to playing first-team football. Each match I learned something new. That's when I understood how crucial experience and playing games was. You could say it informed my decision in the off-season."