The first international break of the season is approaching – and Kai Havertz is on the verge of his debut as a full international. The 19-year-old Bayer 04 pro has been called up by Germany coach Joachim Löw for the encounter in the UEFA Nations League next Thursday, 6 September, against World Cup winners France in Munich as well as for the friendly against Peru on the following Sunday, 9 September, in Sinsheim. As expected, Löw has also called up Julian Brandt and Jonathan Tah. For Havertz (above as captain of the Germany U19 team in the game against the Netherlands in March of this year), the youngest Bundesliga player of all times to clock up 50 appearances in the top flight, it is the next exciting step on the career ladder.
"We need a good balance of experience and youth. Kai Havertz, as did the two other newcomers Nico Schulz and Thilo Kehrer, showed his great talent last season," declared Löw at this afternoon's DFB press conference in Munich.Bayer 04 head coach Heiko Herrlich said: "We're very happy about the call ups for Julian, Jonathan and Kai. Our aim is to continue to have a lot of Germany internationals at Leverkusen. At the World Cup we only had one and now there are three. And they have absolutely deserved it."
Other Bayer 04 players will also be on international duty. Central defender Aleksandar Dragovic will first be in the Austria squad for the friendly on 6 September in Vienna against Sweden – with the Werkself striker Isaac Kiese Thelin – and then on 11 September for a Nations League game against Bosnia Herzegovina in Zenica. Sweden also have their second game in the Nations League on 10 September against Turkey in Solna. And Tin Jedvaj also has two games with World Cup runners-up Croatia: The first is a friendly against Portugal in Faro on 6 September before taking on Spain in the Nations League in Elche on 11 September.
Goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky, who is currently recovering from the after-effects of a jaw operation, will join the Finland squad who have two home games in the Nations League against Hungary in Tampere on 8 September and against Estonia on 11 September in Turku. Charles Aránguiz is in the Chile squad for two friendlies in Asia; on 7 September against Japan in Sapporo and on 11 September against South Korea in Busan.
Young pro Jakub Bednarczyk is in the Poland U 20 squad for two friendlies against Italy in Lodz on 6 September and against Switzerland on 10 September in Montreux. For the four nation U17 tournament on Schluchsee, forward Christopher Scott is in the Germany squad under coach Michael Feichtenbeiner for the games in Konstanz, Singen and Waldshut-Tiengen against the Netherlands, Israel and Italy. Two other Bayer 04 youngsters in Yannick Schlößer and Cem Türkmen are on standby.
Bayer 04 have agreed a loan move for U19s striker Ken Izekor to join Bundesliga 2 club Eintracht Braunschweig on loan for the rest of the 2025/26 season.
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Bayer 04 have agreed a loan deal for Jeanuel Belocian to join fellow Bundesliga club Wolfsburg on loan until the end of the season. The 20-year-old defender’s contract in Leverkusen runs until 30 June 2029.
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After Leverkusen's eSports team spectacularly won the first showdown in the history of the VBL Club Championship last year, two rather sobering editions followed with two early exits. Now, in Showdown Four, cousins Marc and Sean Landwehr have once again made it into the offline knockout phase. And in this phase, Bochum awaits on Monday, 2 February (live on the VBL's Twitch channel from 16:00 CET). Here's a look at their opponents and what might happen next.
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SAB-P GmbH is to become Bayer 04 Leverkusen's first official inclusion partner. The company, which has previously been involved in the club's Business Club, is underlining its social commitment to inclusion with an agreement that runs until 31 May 2027. Among other things, it will be the shirt sponsor of the Inclusion Team from the 2026/27 season onwards.
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The Werkself were impressive in the 3-1 win against Eintracht Frankfurt with clinical finishing and a first half "at a high level" that head coach Kasper Hjulmand draws a lot of positives from. The same should apply to Arthur, who scored for the first time in the Bundesliga. Edmond Tapsoba, for his part, was happy about his 250th appearance in a Bayer 04 jersey. "I think we're slowly finding our feet again," said goalscorer Malik Tillman, summing up the performance. The Werkself review.
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