Leverkusen's Quansah Keeps Calm and Continues Onward in His Steady Rise to Football Fame

"To an observer, it seems crazy," the young defender says, as he looks back on his recent summer, 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 European Under-21 Championship with the English national team at the conclusion of June, Quansah opted to depart from Liverpool, to join Bayer Leverkusen in a multi-million pound transfer.

The significant transfer sum brought big pressure as the young defender was charged with settling in in a new country and at a club where the turnover was substantial. Erik ten Hag had taken over to replace the previous coach and a number of key players were departing or already left – including several high-profile names, Piero Hincapié, Jeremie Frimpong, Amine Adli, experienced professionals, Lukas Hradecky and Jonathan Tah.

League Introduction

Quansah's Bundesliga debut came on August 23rd at home to Hoffenheim and the central defender scored after the opening minutes, albeit the goal was undercut by tragedy. All he could think about was Diogo Jota, 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 five minutes, is definitely a rollercoaster," Quansah says. "However, my dominant emotion was that it was a tribute to Diogo."

Initial Struggles

The defender could have been forgiven for wondering what he had committed to at Leverkusen. From the promising start in their opening league fixture, they succumbed to a 2-1 defeat and the next match on 30 August was equally disappointing. Ten Hag's team squandered comfortable advantages to draw 3-3 at their reduced opponents, the tying goal coming in stoppage time. It was not Ten Hag's team for very long. His dismissal came on September 1st.

Staying Focused

Quansah does not come across as the kind to worry. If composure characterizes his playing style, it was on show during the conversation he participated in after joining England for the Wembley friendly against Wales and the World Cup qualifier against their next opponents.

Quansah has remained focused under the new Leverkusen manager, the Danish tactician, and persisted in doing what he originally planned to do at the team – compete. Hjulmand has brought stability. His team have positive results in four league matches 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 fact that demonstrates he has been ever-present of the club's campaign.

National Team Attention

It is something that Thomas Tuchel has observed. 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 Under-21 European Championship, he provided him with a late call-up in September when John Stones was forced to withdraw.

Still to win his first cap, Quansah must have done something right in practice sessions and around the camp because he was named at the outset in the manager's 24‑man group for the upcoming matches, effectively 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.

Career Choices

"At Leverkusen, the club were keen on signing me for a considerable time and that's not just from the coach," Quansah says. "They were interested prior to his arrival. So knowing it was a sort of internal decision and nothing would change with which manager was to come in ... it was straightforward for me to choose this path.

"There were a numerous squad members departing and it's always tough when you lose key players. It has been difficult to build the leadership groups but the results we have had [under Hjulmand] show that we have developed a competitive team with quality players. It is requiring patience to build and we are not where we want to be. But if we are achieving positive outcomes and not losing that is a good place to begin from."

Leaving Childhood Club

It had to have been a wrench for Quansah to depart from his long-time club, his club from the age of five, where he enjoyed so many memorable moments – such as the league cup triumph over their London rivals in 2023‑24 when he was introduced as an late replacement.

Quansah was also a part of the previous campaign's domestic championship success. Yet his view of much of that 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 comparing unfavourably with his numbers from 2023‑24 when he featured more regularly.

Professional Growth

"I consistently developed off top-level professionals around me at Liverpool and it's been so good for my professional development," he says. "But as a young centre-back, you require match experience and I'm will require hundreds of games to be at my desired level.

"I just wanted regular playing opportunities and when you are at a top-level club, it's not guaranteed because there are elite performers throughout the squad. I wanted an environment where they can have confidence that I could errors at certain moments but they will look under that and recognize I can continue developing and improving."

Foundation Building

Quansah recalls his temporary transfer to League One Bristol Rovers 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 says with a smile, beginning with his debut; a 5-1 defeat at their opponents.

"That was a true eye-opener," Quansah reflects. "It proved a extremely important part of my career because I wanted to make the next step to playing first-team football. Every game I gained fresh insights. That's where I knew how valuable experience and playing games was. You could say it informed my choice in the summer."