"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."
Panagiotis, known as Panos, Retsos wore the Bayer 04 jersey for three years. Including his loan spells, he was under contract with the Werkself for a total of four and a half years. "It's a very special club for me," said the 27-year-old, who returned to his boyhood club Olympiacos in 2022, in an interview with bayer04.de. The former Leverkusen man is now captain and a first choice for the Werkself's next opponents in the UEFA Champions League. Ahead of the clash on Tuesday night, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), Retsos talks about his fond memories of his time in Leverkusen and the imminent reunion with some of his former team-mates. He also talks about who brought him to Leverkusen and why he likes getting older.
Show more
Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
Show more
Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without goalkeeper Mark Flekken and forward Nathan Tella for the time being.
Show more
After a week in the Algarve, the Bayer 04 Women returned home on Saturday afternoon. The Werkself had six training sessions, two friendlies and a lot of time together as a team. Roberto Pätzold's team will be back in action in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga next Friday for the start of matchday 15.
Show more
"We didn’t make the right decision at the right moments," said captain Robert Andrich after the 1-0 defeat away to TSG Hoffenheim, where Bayer 04 endeavoured to control the game but failed to score. The Werkself also had two enforced substitutions due to injuries. Nevertheless, the coach, captain and debutant Janis Blaswich are positive about the coming weeks. The Werkself review.
Show more
