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.
Less than a year ago, Kerim Alajbegovic moved from the Bayer 04 U19s to Austrian top-flight club FC Red Bull Salzburg. The forward’s development since then has been impressive. In 36 matches, including in the UEFA Europa League, the 18-year-old has scored 14 goals. In the summer, Alajbegovic, now a Bosnia international, will return to Leverkusen - and thus not only achieve the next milestone still early in his career, but also enrich the Werkself squad with his footballing versatility and determination.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with forward Nathan Tella ahead of schedule. The versatile 26-year-old, who can be deployed as a right winger, false nine or left winger, has penned a new contract to 30 June 2031. Tella joined the Werkself from Championship club Southampton in 2023. His previous contract ran to the summer of 2028.
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Nathan Tella has extended his contract with Bayer 04 to 2031. In an interview with Werkself TV, the 26-year-old talks about fulfilling his dreams, his positive outlook on life and his goals for the future. He answers the questions in English - all except the last one, which he addresses directly to the fans...
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In the final international break in the current 2025/26 campaign, Bayer 04 striker Patrik Schick with Czechia will be battling for a place at the World Cup. Meanwhile, national teams that have already qualified, include other Werkself players called up, are involved in friendlies in the build-up to the World Cup. Read on for an overview of the Leverkusen internationals and their match dates.
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The Werkself kicked off the final international break of the current season on Monday morning with the first of three open training sessions this week. While eleven Bayer 04 players will be away on international duty in the coming days, the other players will be working together in Leverkusen. The next challenge in the Bundesliga awaits on Saturday, 4 April (kick-off: 15:30 CEST) with the home game against VfL Wolfsburg.
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