Montrell Culbreath
The winger came to Leverkusen from FC Kaiserslautern two years ago and in his first season with the U17s he was directly involved in more than one goal per game on average. Last season the 17-year-old Germany youth international played a big part in the U19s reaching the German championship final.
Ben Hawighorst
Leverkusen through and through – and a player who leads the way. In addition to his role as captain of the Werkself U17 team last season, the defender also led out the Germany U17s. The left-footer, who has already been at Bayer 04 for seven years, has again and again played for the U19s in selected matches. That includes the UEFA Youth League where he started five out of six games. The 17-year-old has been a member of the U19 squad since the summer.
Jeremiah Mensah
The versatile offensive player, like Ben Hawighorst, again and again switched between the U17 and U19 teams last season. The Germany youth international has been at Bayer 04 since he was six. The one-year older brother of the 17-year-old, Naba Mensah, is also in the Leverkusen U19 squad.
Osman Turay
Bayer 04 signed the 17-year-old left-sided defender from Schalke 04 in the middle of June. The Germany youth international will play for the Werkself U19 team. In last season's finals of the Germany U19 championship he was in both knockout matches for Schalke, including against Bayer 04, over the full distance including extra time.
Simeon Rapsch
The 17-year-old completes the goalkeeper line-up at the training camp. In the summer of last year, the tall keeper left his hometown club FC Viktoria Köln to join Leverkusen where he played in goal for the U17 team. This season he is in the U19 squad.
Nebe Domnic
The youngest of the travelling talented youngsters is a full-back. The Germany youth international, who joined Leverkusen from FC Viktoria Köln in 2022, has been part of the U19 squad since the summer at the age of 16.
Ferdinand Pohl
A classic Bayer 04 home-grown player. The central defender, who made over 30 appearances for the U19s, played as a number six in the closing stages of last season due to injuries to teammates. The 18-year-old has already played for Germany youth teams.
Dustin Buck
A week ago, Bayer 04 announced the signing of the 17-year-old offensive player. The Germany U17 international joined Leverkusen from the youth set-up at FC Augsburg. He prefers to play on the right wing but he can also play in the centre-forward position.
Emmanuel Owen
In his first season under the Cross, the left-footer signed from TSG Hoffenheim in the summer played as a winger in 22 games for U19s.
Ken Izekor
The powerful centre-forward has been at Bayer 04 since the age of eleven. Having joined the club from Alemannia Aachen back then, he progressed through all the Werkself youth sides and he was in running to play for the Germany U16 and U17 teams.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended midfielder Noah Mbamba’s contract by twelve months and sent the Belgian U21 international on loan to France. At FC Lorient, the 21-year-old – whose contract at Leverkusen now runs to 30 June 2029 – is set to gain playing time in Ligue 1 and, through strong performances and further development, put himself in the running for a future place in the Werkself squad.
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Spurred on by a flawless hat-trick from Cornelia Kramer, the Bayer 04 women’s team won their penultimate pre-season friendly in commanding fashion. As part of the season launch, the Werkself beat Dutch top-flight side Feyenoord 7–0. In front of 3,000 spectators at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium, Kramer (6’, 25’, 45’), Sofie Zdebel (47’), Maja Sternad (59'), Natasha Kowalski (83') and Vanessa Fudalla (86') scored the goals for coach Roberto Pätzold’s side.
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The Shareholders’ Committee of Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH has extended the contracts of the two managing directors, Fernando Carro and Simon Rolfes, ahead of schedule. The CEO, Fernando Carro (62), will continue in his role until 30 June 2029, and managing director sport Simon Rolfes (44) will remain in post until 30 June 2031.
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There’s plenty for Bayer 04 fans to enjoy both on and off the pitch at the official 2026 season launch. In addition to the women’s team taking on Feyenoord at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium at 13:15 CEST and the men’s team facing Sevilla at the BayArena at 15:30 CEST, fans of all ages can enjoy a range of activities – and get to meet Bayer 04 players and former players in the process. The Fanwelt is also offering a special promotion: buy a new shirt and get free printing! Here’s an overview of everything you need to know about the season launch, including the live streams.
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