Just before 10:30 this morning: Gerardo Seoane plus his two assistant coaches Patrick Schnarwiler and Alberto Encinas, were the first on the training pitch one. Before they went on to the pitch, the trio had a chat with the youngest of the Bayer 04 supporters present. After the session, Seoane talked about fans returning to the training ground: "It's particularly great for the children to be able to be so close the players, have their photos taken with them and be able to get their autographs. We are very happy that the fans came to see us."
The Werkself players were led out onto the pitch fifteen minutes later by Kerem Demirbay and Timothy Fosu-Mensah. The duo were fully fit at the first session after recovering from injuries in the closing stages of last season and they were joined by Jeremie Frimpong and Karim Bellarabi.
The 75-minute session began with different warm-up drills and then the focus was primarily on working with the ball. A relaxed but concentrated start for the Werkself with youngsters Zidan Sertdemir and Iker Bravo joined by the youth players Ayman Aourir, Christian Schwieren, Noah Pesch, Ingyom Jung, Jardell Kanga plus goalkeeper Maximilian Neutgens. Also involved were the players returning from loan in Ayman Azhil (RKC Waalwijk/Netherlands) and Mitchell Weiser (Werder Bremen) plus U19 new signing Madi Monamay, who joined Leverkusen a few days ago from KRC Genk.
Nadiem Amiri, who played for the Italian club CFC Genoa on loan in the second half of last season, trained in the facilities at the BayArena. Paulinho has been ill recently but, according to Seoane on Monday, " he should be back on the plane as soon as possible." In addition, Charles Aránguiz had problems with his return flight from South America and the Chile international is expected to return to Leverkusen in the middle of the week.
As with the first training session of the summer, the other Werkself sessions this week are open to the fans. Up to Saturday, Seoane will be working with Andrich and Co. on the training ground at the BayArena every day at 10.30 CEST with two other sessions planned for 15.00 CEST on Tuesday and Thursday. Wednesday’s training will be held inside the BayArena on Wednesday rather than on the training ground.
Please note: Changes can be made at short notice and Bayer 04 will inform fans of any such changes via the club channels.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended Abdoulaye Faye’s contract by a further year to 30 June 2031. During the 2026/27 season, the talented defender will play for Celta Vigo on loan without an option to buy. The 21-year-old Senegalese is set to feature in La Liga and the UEFA Europa League with last season’s sixth-placed side in Spain.
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The Werkself's training camp in Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog you'll find all the insights and updates from the day. The programme on day one (Sunday 2 August) includes a media round with managing director sport Simon Rolfes, free time for the team after the friendly against Rot-Weiss Essen and before an intensive week of training begins, as well as a coffee get-together where CEO Fernando Carro and Rolfes met around 100 fans in the afternoon.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed Kerim Alajbegovic’s transfer to Italian record champions Juventus. The club brought the 18-year-old attacking player back to Leverkusen this summer via a buy-back option, following a season at Red Bull Salzburg. Until his move to Austria, the Bosnia international had been playing for Bayer 04’s Under-19s.
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A warm welcome to the Weimarer Land, Bayer 04! The Werkself moved into their accommodation for this year’s training camp on Saturday evening. In Blankenhain, Thuringia, head coach Carles Martínez’s team have a programme of gruelling training sessions – several of which will be open to fans – and team-building activities lined up for the next six days. We’ll be following the Werkself up close and providing you with exclusive insights, quotes, photos and videos from the training camp.
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With 22 days to go until the start of the Bundesliga campaign, the Bayer 04 Women’s team have gained a fresh boost of confidence. In a friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk on Saturday afternoon, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team secured a 1–0 win. Lobke Loonen (20’) scored the winner for the Black and Reds at the Kurtekotten training centre.
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