At the end of last week, Andrey Lunev signed a two-year deal in Leverkusen. The 29-year-old goalkeeper was at Zenit St. Petersburg for the previous four and a half years and in that time he won the Russian league title three times and the domestic cup competition once.
Lunev’s excitement at the new chapter at Bayer 04 was clear to see during his first session on the training ground at the BayArena. With a little smile, the 1.93 metre shot-stopper stepped onto the turf with eleven teammates in the morning and the Russian trained with the players left in Leverkusen a couple of hours later in the afternoon. The reason for splitting the Werkself into two groups: There were further performance tests at the BayArena on Monday.
Florian Wirtz, Kerem Demirbay, Karim Bellarabi and Co. completed numerous one-on-one moves in an enclosed space in the morning and they also tested Lunev, Lennart Grill and Maximilian Neutgens between the sticks. 'Training group 1' ended the session by cooling off in a pool next to the pitch – the players in action in the afternoon completed a similar programme.
Offensive player Samed Onur will now play in the Turkish top-flight. The 18-year-old, who spent nine years in the youth section at Bayer 04, has signed a contract with Fatih Karagümrük. The Istanbul team ended last season in eighth place. Onur says about his time under the Bayer Cross: "Many thanks to Bayer 04 for almost ten great years at Leverkusen. In spite of a number of setbacks, I always enjoyed being on the pitch. I had a great grounding here, was able to make my debut for the first team and I gained lots of friends. My journey is now taking me elsewhere but I will always look back at this time with great pleasure and pride. Thank you." We wish you lots of success in Istanbul, Samed.
Cem Türkmen also moves abroad with immediate effect. The 19-year-old central midfielder signed a contract with the French top-flight newcomers Clermont Foot 63. "I grew up at Leverkusen, learned to play football here and made my first team debut. I will never forget that exciting time," declared Türkmen who played in a Werkself shirt for 13 years. In the new season, the midfielder will play for the Austrian second division club FC Austria Lustenau on loan. All the best to you too, Cem.
Hans-Peter Lehnhoff has long been a key personality at Bayer 04. The man for all seasons ended his playing career with the Werkself after five years in 1999 and since then he has worked on organisational matters relating to the Werkself. When time permits, he also plays for the Bayer 04 Veterans team. And he is also considered to be unbeatable at football tennis.
Lehnhoff celebrated his 58th birthday on Monday. And, as usual, he was at the BayArena on his birthday following the Werkself sessions on the training ground. We wish you the best of health – for many more years.
The Werkself bring down the curtain on their 2024/25 Bundesliga campaign with a game away at Mainz on Saturday (kick-off: 3.30pm CEST). Here’s all you need to know ahead of the Matchday 34 meeting at the MEWA Arena.
Show moreBayer 04 close out the 2024/25 season away at Mainz on Saturday (3.30pm CEST) looking to end the campaign on a high. In his final press conference as Leverkusen boss, Xabi Alonso spoke about how he plans to approach the Bundesliga Matchday 34 fixture and also about his time with the Werkself.
Show moreBayer 04’s final game of the 2024/25 Bundesliga season takes them to Mainz on Saturday (kick-off: 3.30pm CEST) for what’ll be a real final for the hosts. They come into Matchday 34 in sixth place, which would see them qualify for the play-off rounds of the UEFA Conference League, but they are only ahead of RB Leipzig in seventh on goal difference. Still, Bo Henriksen’s team have their fate in their own hands if they want to qualify for European competition for only the fourth time in the club’s history. Here's all you need to know about our next opponents.
Show moreThe Werkself are away to FSV Mainz 05 on the final Bundesliga matchday of the 2024/25 season. The game is on Saturday, 17 May (kick-off: 15:30 CEST). The Bayer 04 Fan Liaison team brings you the latest information on the fixture at the MEWA Arena...
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