After last week's days without games or training, head coach Xabi Alonso welcomed a small group to training in a cool four degrees on Monday morning for the first session of the week. The Spaniard brought in a number of Bayer 04 youth players to fill out the group. Madi Monamay has already returned from international duty with the Belgium U18 side. The defender was on the winning side with Belgium against England and South Korea, both times on penalties, and he led the team out as captain against England.
Alonso particularly focused on passing and finishing in the first training session of the week. The 41-year-old manager was able to witness impressive attacking moves from Alejandro Grimaldo, Nathan Tella, Nadiem Amiri and Edmond Tapsoba. Patrik Schick, who completed the full session as he continues working on his comeback, looked sharp in front of goal as he converted a number of crosses.
The Bayer 04 squad will be putting in hard shifts over the next few days in intensive sessions ahead of the Bundesliga match at the weekend. Several Werkself players, including Granit Xhaka, Josip Stanisic, Adam Hlozek and Matej Kovar, are expected back in Leverkusen on Wednesday and they will then join in preparations for the away match in Wolfsburg. The remaining Werkself players on international duty will be back with the team towards the end of the week.
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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