
"Of course, it's a great story. Emre came through the ranks at Kurtekotten. A striker with an excellent goalscoring instinct," explained Bayer 04 sporting director Simon Rolfes. "He was very prolific in the youth Bundesliga and has already shown his potential with the first team. Now he has the opportunity to carry on developing at a high level. He has the ability and the ambition to achieve that."
Emrehan Gedikli is currently in the Germany U18 squad and has played 43 games and scored 43 goals in the U19 and U17 youth leagues. He made his first-team debut in the Europa League. In the home game against Hapoel Beer Sheva in the group stages, he came on late as a substitute for Karim Bellarabi. He was a substitute away at Nice and he played 45 minutes in the home game against Slavia Prague.
"That's obviously given me a taste for more," said Gedikli, who started a course to become a sports and fitness executive in the summer of 2019 at Bayer 04. "I've got a lot to thank Bayer 04 for. I'd like to pay that back with good performances. I'm passionate about the club and I want to make the grade in professional football."

The Werkself have reached at least the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal in each of the last three years. The Black-and-Reds would like to make it to the final four of the competition again this season, but to do that they'll need to overcome 1. FC Nürnberg in round two, who travel to the BayArena with momentum following a successful league campaign so far. However, Bayer have a 100 percent record at home in all competitions this season - and have also won six of their last seven home matches in the Pokal. The Matchday News.
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Back at home in the second round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal, Bayer 04 host FC Nürnberg at the BayArena. The match against the current second-placed side in Bundesliga 2 is on Wednesday 28 October at 20:45 CET. Ahead of the game, head coach Carles Martínez spoke, amongst other things, about his anticipation of the clash in front of a home crowd. The Spaniard also commented on a number of personnel matters, including Ibrahim Maza and Montrell Culbreath, plus the visitors’ coach, Miroslav Klose.
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Now in their third season under head coach Miroslav Klose, FC Nürnberg are among the promotion contenders in Bundesliga 2. On Wednesday 28 October (kick-off: 20:45 CET), the team currently second in the table are away to Bayer 04 in the second round of the DFB Pokal. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Werkself player Ibrahim Maza has been named in the top ten in the ‘Men’s Young Talent of the Year’ category for 2026. The 20-year-old was at the London Palladium on Monday evening for the 2026 Ballon d’Or awards ceremony. Fernando Carro, Bayer 04 CEO, also attended the ceremony. Lamine Yamal of Barcelona was named the winner in the ‘Men’s Young Talent of the Year’ category.
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Bayer 04 will have to manage without forward Moussa Diaby for their upcoming matches. The 27-year-old Frenchman sustained a thigh injury in the 3-0 defeat against TSG Hoffenheim yesterday afternoon, Sunday 25 October. Diaby is expected to be available again after the international break in November.
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