Last Wednesday, Bayer 04 signed right-back Jeremie Frimpong from Scottish champions Celtic. The 20-year-old has now completed the compulsory period of self-isolation after arriving in Germany and yesterday he trained for the first time with the Werkself. Whether or not the Dutch U21 international will be in the squad for the first time, after just the second training session on Monday, for the DFB Cup tie against Rot-Weiss Essen was left unanswered by head coach Peter Bosz at the pre-match press conference.
By the way: Not only is the number 30 shirt with Frimpong printing immediately available online at the web shop, but also the shirts of Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Demarai Gray who is our number 28.
This cup tie is special for Cedric Harenbrock. He was in the Werkself youth set-up for nine years before joining Rot-Weiss Essen in 2017. "The connection to Bayer 04 is still strong," said the 22-year-old to Kicker. "I have a lot to thank the club for."
While he was at Leverkusen as a U17 player, he made the step up to the Germany U17s and he also trained with the first team several times in 2016/17. He had to be patient when he signed for Essen in 2017. The development of the Wuppertal-born youngster was brought to a halt by two torn cruciate injuries. Then came the comeback in October 2020. Since then, Harenbrock has secured a place in the Red and White midfield and his five goals and five assists have played a big part in Essen flying high in the Regional League West.
Amara Conde is waiting for his first appearance in the DFB Cup but that could come on Tuesday night at the Hafenstraße ground – and against the club he started at. Amara went through the ranks at Kurtekotten. He played alongside Benjamin Henrichs in a number of the youth teams from 2006 to 2012. From there, the midfielder went to VfL Wolfsburg and Holstein Kiel before joining Rot-Weiss Essen in the summer of 2019.
There is huge respect at Rot-Weiss Essen for Bayer 04. That was revealed by striker Simon Engelmann to Kicker: "Other draws would definitely have been easier than Bayer Leverkusen." The RWE director Marcus Uhlig then tried to qualify the statement somewhat: "It wasn't the case that we were annoyed by the draw for days and days." However, coach Christian Neidhart made no secret that they did hope for a different opponent. "The cup is for providing upsets and earning money. We've done that. We definitely would not have wished for such a strong opponent," Neidhart revealed to SID sports information service.
Bayer 04 legend Juan is 42 on Tuesday. He played for the Werkself from 2002 to 2007, making 176 appearances (16 goals, seven assists). The Brazilian only ended his playing career in the summer of 2019 – when he was at Flamengo Rio de Janeiro where he had also started on professional terms. Former Bayer 04 defender Sebastian Boenisch (34), under the Buyer Cross from 2012 to 2016, is also celebrating his birthday as is Burak Kaplan (31). The home-grown Leverkusen youngster played for the Black and Reds from 1997 to 2011 (including loans) and after leaving he went on to play for Besiktas and KFC Uerdingen. Happy birthday to all three.
Of all things, a goal against the Werkself has been voted Goal of the Year 2020. In the vote for the ARD Sportschau, the Borussia Mönchengladbach player Valentino Lazaro beat ten other nominees with his scorpion kick at the BayArena on 8 November 2020. Over 115,000 viewers, making up 35 per cent, voted for the midfielder. It is more bearable from a Bayer 04 perspective as the game ended in a 4-3 win for the Werkself. Congratulations go to Gladbach.
100 children from the Bayer 04 Football Academy had the chance to gain exclusive insights: As part of the summer camp, the young footballers headed inside the BayArena at midday on Tuesday, 21 July, where they were due to meet Werkself keepers Janis Blaswich and Simeon Rapsch in the press conference room. The two players took plenty of time to answer every question from the inquisitive audience – whether it was about their own careers or their first impressions of the new head coach. Finally, there was even time left to sign autographs for the young fans.
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Alejo Sarco has left Bayer 04 Leverkusen to join Sporting Gijón in Spain’s second division. Bayer 04 have secured a buy-back clause for the 20-year-old Argentine striker, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Borussia Mönchengladbach.
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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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