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"From the outside, it appears insane," the young defender says, as he looks back on his recent summer, when dizzying change felt like a constant. "However, that's just how it goes ... football is a unpredictable game."

A Brief Summary

Days after claiming victory in the European Under-21 Championship with England at the end of June, Quansah decided to leave Liverpool, to join the Bundesliga side in a £30m deal.

The significant transfer sum brought big pressure as the 22-year-old was charged with finding his feet in a foreign land and at a team where the turnover was dramatic. Erik ten Hag had stepped in to replace the previous coach and a host of key players were gone or going – including several high-profile names, Piero Hincapié, influential figures, Amine Adli, experienced professionals, Lukas Hradecky and team leaders.

League Introduction

Quansah's first league appearance came on 23 August at their home ground to Hoffenheim and the centre-half scored after the opening minutes, albeit the goal was undercut by sadness. His primary thought was his former Liverpool teammate, who was killed in a car accident. Quansah performed Jota's gamer celebration as a mark of respect.

"To have a goal on your first Bundesliga match, in front of home fans, after the opening moments, is certainly a whirlwind," Quansah states. "But my overwhelming feeling was that it was a tribute to Diogo."

Initial Struggles

The player 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 fell to a 2-1 defeat and the next match on 30 August was just as bad. The squad squandered 2-0 and 3-1 leads to draw 3-3 at their reduced opponents, the tying goal coming in added time. It was no longer his responsibility for much longer. His dismissal came on 1 September.

Maintaining Composure

Quansah doesn't appear to be the kind to worry. If composure defines his game, it was on show during the conversation he gave after joining England for the international friendly against Wales and the World Cup qualifier against Latvia.

Quansah has kept his head down under the current coach, Kasper Hjulmand, and persisted in doing what he always intended to do at the team – compete. The new manager has established consistency. His squad have three wins and one draw in their domestic campaign along with ties in each of their European matches. But there is a broader statistic that motivates the player, even bringing a measure of vindication. It is the one which shows he has been ever-present of the club's campaign.

National Team Attention

It is something that Thomas Tuchel has noted. The national team manager was a admirer previously, selecting Quansah when he announced his initial selection. After omitting him in the summer so that Quansah could concentrate on the youth tournament, he gave him a last-minute inclusion in the autumn when the experienced defender was forced to withdraw.

Still to win his international debut, Quansah must have impressed sufficiently in practice sessions and within the squad environment because he was selected at the outset in Tuchel's 24‑man group for the upcoming matches, essentially as a fifth centre-back with Stones fit again. The aspiration is a debut. It is another thing he would surely handle with ease.

Career Choices

"At Leverkusen, the club were keen on signing me for a while and that's not only from the coach," Quansah explains. "They were interested before he got appointed. 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.

"We had a lot of players leaving and it's always tough when you lose key players. It has been tough 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 achieving positive outcomes and avoiding defeats that is a solid foundation to begin from."

Liverpool Departure

It had to have been a difficult separation for Quansah to leave his long-time club, his team since childhood, where he enjoyed so many memorable moments – such as the Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea in 2023‑24 when he came on as an late replacement.

Quansah was also a part of the previous campaign's Premier League title triumph. Yet his view of most of that achievement was not the perspective he would have chosen. He was an unused substitute on multiple matches 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've always learned off top-level professionals around me at my former club and it's been incredibly beneficial for my career," he comments. "However, for a developing defender, you need games and I'm going to be needing hundreds of games 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 world-class players throughout the squad. I wanted somewhere where they can trust that I could errors at certain moments but they will look under that and see I can continue developing and pushing."

Foundation Building

Quansah remembers his loan to League One Bristol Rovers in the second-half of 2022-23 where he made his first senior appearances – multiple matches, to be exact. There were "multiple reality checks", he says with a grin, starting with his first game; a 5-1 defeat at Morecambe.

"That represented a true eye-opener," Quansah says. "It proved a extremely important part of my career because I wanted to make the next step to regular senior competition. Every game I gained fresh insights. That's when I understood how valuable practical knowledge and match practice was. You could say it influenced my choice in the summer."