🔗 Share this article

"From the outside, it seems insane," the young defender remarks, as he reflects on his summer just gone, when rapid transformation felt like a constant. "However, that's just how it goes ... football is a unpredictable game."

A Quick Recap

Shortly after winning the U21 European Championship with England at the conclusion of June, Quansah decided to leave Liverpool, to join 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 substantial. Erik ten Hag had taken over to replace Xabi Alonso and a number of star performers were departing or already left – including Florian Wirtz, Piero Hincapié, influential figures, Amine Adli, experienced professionals, established players and Jonathan Tah.

Bundesliga Debut

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on August 23rd at home to their opponents and the centre-half scored after five 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 executed Jota's gamer celebration as a tribute.

"Scoring on your first Bundesliga match, at home, after the opening moments, is certainly a rollercoaster," Quansah states. "But my overwhelming feeling was that it was a homage to Diogo."

Early Challenges

The player could have been forgiven for wondering what he had committed to at Leverkusen. From the promising start in their first league game, they succumbed to a narrow loss and the following game on 30 August was equally disappointing. Ten Hag's team squandered 2-0 and 3-1 leads to finish level at 10-man Werder Bremen, the tying goal coming in added time. It was no longer his responsibility for much longer. He was sacked on September 1st.

Staying Focused

Quansah does not come across as the type to fret. If composure defines his game, it was on show during the conversation he gave after joining England for the Wembley friendly against Wales and the qualifying match against Latvia.

Quansah has kept his head down under the new Leverkusen manager, Kasper Hjulmand, and continued to do what he originally planned to do at the team – play. The new manager has established consistency. His team have positive results in their domestic campaign along with draws in each of their European matches. But there is a more significant number that encourages Quansah, even bringing a measure of vindication. It is the fact that demonstrates he has been ever-present of the club's campaign.

National Team Attention

It is one that Thomas Tuchel has noted. The national team manager was a fan previously, selecting Quansah when he announced his initial selection. After leaving him out in the summer so that Quansah could concentrate on the youth tournament, he gave him a late call-up in the autumn when the experienced defender was compelled to pull out.

Yet to earn his international debut, Quansah must have impressed sufficiently in training and within the squad environment because he was selected at the beginning in Tuchel's squad selection for the upcoming matches, essentially 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 coach," 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 straightforward for me to choose this path.

"We had a lot of players departing and it's always tough when you lose key players. It has been difficult to establish new hierarchies but the outcomes we have had [under Hjulmand] show that we have got a good squad with talented individuals. It is requiring patience to build and we are still progressing. But if we are achieving positive outcomes and avoiding defeats that is a solid foundation to start."

Liverpool Departure

It had to have been a wrench for Quansah to depart from Liverpool, his team since childhood, where he enjoyed so many memorable moments – such as the Carabao Cup final victory over their London rivals in 2023‑24 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 chosen. He was an unused substitute on multiple matches in the competition, his four starts and nine appearances falling short compared to his numbers from the prior season when he featured more regularly.

Career Development

"I consistently developed off some of the best players around me at Liverpool and it's been incredibly beneficial for my professional development," he comments. "However, for a developing defender, you require match experience and I'm going to be needing hundreds of games to be where I want to be.

"My primary desire was regular playing opportunities and when you are at a top-level club, it's not promised because there are elite performers throughout the squad. 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."

Early Experience

Quansah recalls his loan to League One Bristol Rovers in the later part of that season where he made his first senior appearances – multiple matches, to be precise. There were "multiple reality checks", he says with a grin, beginning with his first game; a heavy loss at their opponents.

"That represented a true eye-opener," Quansah reflects. "It proved a extremely important part of my career because I aimed to take the subsequent progression to regular senior competition. Every game I learned something new. That's where I knew how crucial practical knowledge and playing games was. You could say it influenced my decision in the off-season."