Born in Hamburg, Ernest Poku grew up in the Netherlands. Up to the age of 15, he played for the Amsterdam amateur clubs SV Robinhood and FC Amsterdam before the promising talent came to the attention of AZ Alkmaar who signed him as a youth player.
The 1.76 metre tall winger made his debut for the AZ second team in the second division in the spring of 2021. The then 17-year-old made his first appearance for the senior team in the Eredivisie at the start of the 2021/22 season. A few days later, Poku made his first appearance on the European stage in the Europa League play-offs.
In the following 2022/23 season, he impressively won the UEFA Youth League with Alkmaar including two goals in the 5-0 victory in the final against Hajduk Split. He scored a total of eight goals in the competition. The season after, he netted his first goal in the Eredivisie as a substitute in April 2024 and Poku finally made his breakthrough in the 2024/25 campaign.
Since the middle of October last year, he has started in nearly every game in the league, domestic cup and the UEFA Europa League. He has clocked up 42 appearances and eleven goal involvements across all competitions.
At the international level, Poku has played for the Netherlands in the U16, U18, U19 and U21 teams. In June of this year, he played for the Oranje junior side at the U21 European Championships in Slovakia. Poku and Co. progressed to the semi-finals where they went out to the holders and eventual winners England. The new Leverkusen player featured in nearly every game in the prestigious junior international tournament and he scored two goals including the winner in the 1-0 victory against Portugal in the quarter-finals.
This term, Poku has already played four games for Alkmaar, all from the start. In the three qualifiers in the UEFA Conference League, the winger scored one goal and provided one assist and he also set up a goal on matchday one in the Eredivisie. Poku is now looking forward to starting at Leverkusen on the back of this early top form: “It’s a big club, a Champions League club! I’m happy Bayer 04 have given me this chance.”
Bayer 04 Leverkusen continue cooperation with proven sleeve partner Talcid in the coming DFB Pokal campaign. In the current season, the famous Bayer brand – starting with the first round tie at Baden-Württemberg Regional League side SG Sonnenhof Großaspach on Friday – will be displayed with the historic chameleon logo on the right sleeve of the Werkself players jerseys. Bayer 04 won the DFB Pokal for the first time in 1993 with that logo on their chests – Talcid was the official jersey sponsor of the Werkself from 1991 to 1995.
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New signing Axel Tape has impressed in his first friendlies for Bayer 04 with his cool approach and confidence. For the defender, signed from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer, it is the first time he has played for another club other than the Champions League winners. The Frenchman consciously decided early in his career to make the move abroad to Bayer 04. Today, Sunday, Tape celebrates his 18th birthday. Bayer04.de spoke to him about his first weeks at Leverkusen, his versatile style of play and his targets for the year ahead.
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