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"To an observer, it seems insane," the young defender says, as he looks back on his summer just gone, when dizzying change felt like a constant. "But it is one of them ... football is a crazy game."

A Quick Recap

Shortly after winning the U21 European Championship with England at the end of June, Quansah decided to leave his childhood club, to join the Bundesliga side in a £30m deal.

The significant transfer sum equalled high expectations as the 22-year-old was tasked with settling in in a new country and at a club where the churn was dramatic. Erik ten Hag had taken over to replace the previous coach and a number of star performers were departing or already left – including Florian Wirtz, Piero Hincapié, Jeremie Frimpong, prominent athletes, experienced professionals, Lukas Hradecky and team leaders.

Bundesliga Debut

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on August 23rd at their home ground to their opponents and the central defender scored after the opening minutes, albeit the goal was undercut by tragedy. His primary thought was Diogo Jota, who was killed in a car accident. Quansah executed his teammate's signature celebration as a mark of respect.

"To have a goal on your Bundesliga debut, in front of home fans, after five minutes, is certainly a rollercoaster," Quansah states. "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. From the promising start in their opening league fixture, they succumbed to a 2-1 defeat and the next match on August 30th was equally disappointing. The squad threw away comfortable advantages to draw 3-3 at their reduced opponents, the equaliser coming in added time. It was not Ten Hag's team for very long. He was sacked on September 1st.

Maintaining Composure

Quansah doesn't appear to be the kind to worry. If calmness defines his game, it was on show during the interview he gave after joining the national team for the international friendly against their rivals and the qualifying match against Latvia.

Quansah has kept his head down under the current coach, Kasper Hjulmand, and continued to do what he originally planned to do at the club – compete. Hjulmand has established consistency. His team have three wins and one draw in their domestic campaign along with ties in each of their Champions League ties. But there is a broader statistic that motivates the player, even bringing a sense of justification. It is the fact that demonstrates he has been ever-present of the club's campaign.

National Team Attention

It is something that the England head coach has noted. The national team manager was a admirer last season, selecting Quansah when he named his first squad. 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 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 the manager's squad selection for the upcoming matches, essentially as a fifth centre-back with Stones fit again. The dream is a first appearance. It is one more milestone he would surely handle with ease.

Decision Making

"With my new club, the team were interested in me for a considerable time and that's not just from the coach," Quansah says. "Their interest existed before he got appointed. So understanding it was a type of internal decision and nothing would change with whatever coach was to take over ... it was straightforward for me to choose this path.

"We had a numerous squad members leaving and it's consistently challenging when you lose key players. It has been tough to build the leadership groups but the results we have had [under Hjulmand] demonstrate that we have got a good squad with talented individuals. It is going to take time to build and we are not where we want to be. 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 wrench for Quansah to depart from his long-time club, his team since childhood, where he experienced so many significant occasions – such as the Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea in the previous season when he was introduced as an extra-time substitute.

Quansah was also a part of last season's Premier League title triumph. Yet his view of most of that achievement was not the one he would have preferred. He was an non-playing reserve on 25 occasions in the league, his four starts and nine appearances falling short compared to his statistics from 2023‑24 when he started nine games.

Career Development

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

"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 all over the pitch. I wanted an environment where they can trust that I might make mistakes at certain moments but they will look under that and see I can keep pushing and pushing."

Foundation Building

Quansah recalls his loan 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 "multiple reality checks", he notes with a grin, starting with his debut; a 5-1 defeat at their opponents.

"That represented a true eye-opener," Quansah reflects. "It proved a really valuable part of my career because I wanted to make the subsequent progression to playing first-team football. Every game I learned something new. That's where I understood how crucial practical knowledge and match practice was. You could suggest it influenced my decision in the summer."