Following Wednesday's session away from the training ground, the Werkself were able to put their football boots on again this morning. Due to the continuing heatwave, Heiko Herrlich and his coaching team brought training forward by half an hour to 10.00 CET – However the thermometer at the training ground was already showing a sizzling 33° early in the day. And it didn't take long before all of the total of 21 pros (plus 3 keepers) were sweating. No wonder the Werkself took regular drinks breaks. And after the training session there were other measures for cooling down. In terms of personnel, Jonathan Tah, Dominik Kohr, Paulinho and five U19 players (Ayman Azhil, Jan Boller, Kevin Bukusu, Cebralis Makreckis and Adrian Stanilewicz) were joined by Panos Retsos in full training. At least for the first part for the Greek. After that, he worked with Charles Aránguiz with the ball on the neighbouring pitch. In addition to Karim Bellarabi and the two long-term absentees Lukas Hradecky and Joel Pohjanpalo, the Bender twins (both picked up ankle problems in the recent friendlies against Siegen (3-0) and Wuppertal (2-0) were both absent at the start. Lars did appear 70 minutes after the start of training for an individual session on the pitch. By the way: The final session of the week is at 9.30 CET tomorrow morning.
In the Monday edition of the sports magazine 'kicker', Sven Bender, Jonathan Tah (both central defence) and Bernd Leno (goalkeepers) made it into the rankings of German football thanks that there performances in the second half of last season. Today's edition (#61) reveals that five other Werkself pros have earned recognition. In the position of 'Wing backs', Bayer 04 captain Lars Bender was ranked third by the editors behind Nico Schulz (Hoffenheim) and Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich) out of a total of 13 under the heading 'International class'and left back Wendell was thirteenth in the 'Up-and-coming' group. In defensive midfield, Charles Aránguiz held off the competition to finish top ahead of FC Bayern's Javi Martinez – team-mate Julian Baumgartlinger was ranked sixth out of a total of nine. In addition: Fritz Walter gold medal winner Kai Havertz was ranked eighth out of ten candidates in the offensive midfield category. Applause all round for the Werkself quintet.
Three weeks after the official start of the pre-season, Saturday marks the end of the special break for World Cup participant Julian Brandt. While his team-mates take part in the last friendly before the training camp in Salzburger Land (29 July to 5 August) away to the Dutch team Fortuna Sittard (Kick-off 18.00 CET), the Werkself number 10 will be going through the obligatory pre-season performance tests. The 22-year-old will undergo examination of heart and kidneys by the medical section at the Werkself. The day after that, Brandt will join the rest of the Bayer 04 squad In heading off to Austria. World Cup runner-up Tin Jedvaj will return to the Werkself after the training camp – he will probably return to full training on 8 August.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended Abdoulaye Faye’s contract by a further year to 30 June 2031. During the 2026/27 season, the talented defender will play for Celta Vigo on loan without an option to buy. The 21-year-old Senegalese is set to feature in La Liga and the UEFA Europa League with last season’s sixth-placed side in Spain.
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The Werkself's training camp in Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog you'll find all the insights and updates from the day. The programme on day one (Sunday 2 August) includes a media round with managing director sport Simon Rolfes, free time for the team after the friendly against Rot-Weiss Essen and before an intensive week of training begins, as well as a coffee get-together where CEO Fernando Carro and Rolfes met around 100 fans in the afternoon.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed Kerim Alajbegovic’s transfer to Italian record champions Juventus. The club brought the 18-year-old attacking player back to Leverkusen this summer via a buy-back option, following a season at Red Bull Salzburg. Until his move to Austria, the Bosnia international had been playing for Bayer 04’s Under-19s.
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A warm welcome to the Weimarer Land, Bayer 04! The Werkself moved into their accommodation for this year’s training camp on Saturday evening. In Blankenhain, Thuringia, head coach Carles Martínez’s team have a programme of gruelling training sessions – several of which will be open to fans – and team-building activities lined up for the next six days. We’ll be following the Werkself up close and providing you with exclusive insights, quotes, photos and videos from the training camp.
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With 22 days to go until the start of the Bundesliga campaign, the Bayer 04 Women’s team have gained a fresh boost of confidence. In a friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk on Saturday afternoon, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team secured a 1–0 win. Lobke Loonen (20’) scored the winner for the Black and Reds at the Kurtekotten training centre.
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