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.”
Six points from three games: The Bayer 04 Women have made a successful start to the Bundesliga season. As part of the first double fixture week in the new Bundesliga campaign, coach Roberto Pätzold's team face last season's third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt at home at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium just four days after the hard-earned 1-0 win at FC Nürnberg. Last term’s two hard-fought games (2-2 and 2-3 from a Leverkusen perspective) also suggest an evenly balanced encounter on Thursday, 26 September (kick-off: 19:00 CEST/live on MagentaSport and DAZN).
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The Werkself are away to FC St. Pauli on Bundesliga Matchday 5. The game is on Saturday, 27 September (kick-off: 15:30 CEST). The Bayer 04 Fan Liaison team brings you the latest information on the fixture at the Millerntor Stadion…
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The Werkself host Paris Saint-Germain on Matchday 3 of the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. The game at the BayArena will take place on Tuesday, 21 October, at 21:00 CEST. All you need to know on ticket sales for the clash with the current UCL winners.
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Former Werkself star Jorginho visited Leverkusen at the weekend accompanied by children from his social project 'Bola Pra Frente' in Rio de Janeiro. The 1994 World Cup winner with Brazil and his group were guests at Bayer 04's Bundesliga home match against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Sunday and the first team training session on Monday. At the subsequent meet & greet with Werkself professional Arthur, a few tears of joy were shed by some of the beaming children. "I always feel very good when I come here, I really feel at home here," said the now 61-year-old Jorginho, beaming with joy and gratitude on his return to the BayArena.
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