
"I'm happy the transfer to Bayer 04 has gone through. The two years at FC Brugge were great above all, of course, because of the two league titles we won," said the 20-year-old Kossounou. "But the Bundesliga is something completely different. I want to show at Leverkusen that I am a top player at this level and that I can help the team."
Sporting director Simon Rolfes characterises the Ivorian as "extremely quick, mobile, very strong in the tackle and technically good. Odilon Kossounou has made a rapid development as a really young player in the past two years in Belgium," said Rolfes, "he still hasn't exhausted his full potential. Odilon has everything to be able to play an important role in our team in the future."
And sporting managing director Rudi Völler is impressed by the 1.91 metre tall international who has won four caps for his country so far: "We are very happy that we were able to complete this transfer. Odilon Kossounou fits in perfectly with us. A central defender with impressive dynamism and body language plus great potential in the game. He will do very well for us in the next few years."

Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-2 loss against VfL Wolfsburg on the 2nd matchday of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga 2026/27.

In the 3-2 defeat at Bundesliga newcomers SV 07 Elversberg, the Werkself found the back of the net in the closing stages and, with a bit of luck, could still have equalised. “Today, our play wasn’t good enough, particularly when it came to the basics,” said head coach Carles Martínez. Like the boss, Ibrahim Maza also wants to learn from the match and look ahead: “Next week, people should be able to see from the very first minute that we want it more than our opponents.” The Werkself review on the Bundesliga opener in 2026/27.
Show more
No points to start the league campaign: Bayer 04 lost 3-2 away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg in the first Bundesliga match of the 2026/27 campaign. Two quick-fire goals from Lukas Petkov (8’) and Cole Campbell (10’) gave the hosts an early lead, before David Mokwa scored the Saarland side’s third shortly after half-time (46’). In the closing stages, the Werkself rallied and staged a late comeback with goals from Patrik Schick (77’) and Christian Kofane (90+1’), but the Black and Reds were denied an equaliser.
Show more
The Black and Reds kick off the new Bundesliga campaign today, Saturday 29 August (kick-off 15:30 CEST), away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg – and the Werkself will come up against a familiar face who is currently causing a stir at ‘Elv’. For an affordable and easy journey to the Saarland, the 1,600 travelling fans can still use the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Today’s matchday news..
Show more
The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
Show more