"Mark Flekken has a great wealth of ability that a goalkeeper needs in top-level football today. He has great reflexes, dominates his area well and has enormous reach with his height of 1.95 metres. Mark has an impressive physical presence and in terms of football he was one of the best keepers in the Premier League over the past two years," said Bayer 04 sporting managing director Simon Rolfes. "He knows the Bundesliga from his successful time at Freiburg. The years in England and his role in the Netherlands team have brought Mark a great amount of international experience on top of that. We are very well placed in the goalkeeping position for the team in the coming years," declared Rolfes.
For the Oranje keeper with eight caps, the move to Bayer 04 is "the next and special step in my career. Many games against absolutely world-class players in England have raised the level of my game," said Flekken. "I'm very happy to be able to dedicate my qualities now to a top German club with big national and European targets. I love the Bundesliga and I'm obviously also looking forward to playing for the Werkself in the Champions League."
Flekken returns from England as a seasoned player to Germany where he was a U17 player for Alemannia Aachen. After playing for Greuther Fürth and MSV Duisburg, he signed for SC Freiburg in 2018 where he made his breakthrough. He played 96 games for the Freiburg side and became one of the top goalkeepers in the league, which brought Flekken to the attention of foreign clubs. The model athlete made 74 Premier League appearances for Brentford over two seasons.
Lots of experience from the Premier League and Bundesliga: Mark Flekken profile
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed 16-year-old midfield prospect Gabriel Minutillo on a long-term contract. The Germany youth international will play for the U19s this season.
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Bayer 04 preparations for the 2026/27 season are in full swing, with the first friendly now under their belts. Although there are still around seven weeks to go until the first Bundesliga home game in early September, there is already huge anticipation for the start of competitive action for head coach Carles Martínez’s team at the BayArena. For the Bundesliga home matches of the new season, here is the latest information regarding the first phase of single-match ticket sales. The tried-and-tested early-bird phase remains in place. From 23 to 31 July, tickets for matches will go on sale on weekdays; the early-bird phase ends on 5 August at the latest – provided tickets are still available by then.
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Bayer 04 Women rounded off their one-week training camp in the Upper Palatinate with their second friendly win of pre-season. Coach Roberto Pätzold's side beat Czech top-flight outfit Slovan Liberec 6-0 in a match consisting of 4 x 30 minutes. Maja Sternad (8'), Caroline Kehrer (55'), Natasha Kowalski (67', 84') with two direct free kicks, Valentina Mädl (97') and Justine Brandau (107') scored the goals for Leverkusen at 1.FC Rieden's Fenstertechnik-Weinfurtner-Arena.
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