Rolfes: Quality is crucial factor with new signings

…the first days in Zell am See: The conditions here are fundamentally very good. The pitch at the Alois Latini Stadium is also in good condition. The fact we couldn't train there on Sunday was only due to the pitch being underwater and thereby unplayable. We adjusted the training accordingly and were able to get back on the pitch on Monday morning.

…the currently decimated senior squad: It's completely normal that several players will miss pre-season when tournaments are on. I'd be more worried if every player was there on the first day and nobody was away with their national teams. (He grins) Of course, that demands a certain flexibility – but that has certainly been the case over the last 18 months due to the pandemic.

…the travelling youth players: The lads are basically doing very well and getting fully involved. It's certainly worth mentioning that we have seven players, including Florian Wirtz and Zidan Sertdemir, who could still play for the U19s. It's obviously also a great chance for the lads to show what they can do.

…possible new signings: We want to, and will, strengthen our defence. Quality is the crucial factor with every new signing. Fundamentally, we aim to avoid the squad from being too big. We also want to keep on giving our youth players a chance.

…head coach Gerardo Seoane: In modern football you have to be able to find a solution in every situation in the game against every opponent – without giving up your own game and your own philosophy. Gerardo certainly has that flexibility. In addition to his abilities as a football expert, he also has a strong personality. He has great quality above all in management of people and the group. He also has good access to every player thanks to being multilingual.

…striker Patrik Schick, who scored five goals in five games for the Czech Republic at Euro 2020: Patrik grew stronger physically towards the end of last season. He's worked hard in that area. Of course, his goal from the halfway line in the Euros game against Scotland was great but, above all, he demonstrated his quality with his goals in the penalty area. He combines an incredible number of elements of an outstanding striker. We hope that the Euros gives him a boost here at Leverkusen. I'm convinced he will have a good season with us next term.

New signing Mitchel Bakker: He is very versatile. He can play on the left of a back four but also in front of the defence too. He can also play on the left side in a back three. In addition, he can help us with his pace and he has incredible physique. Although he's still really young he already has an imposing presence on the pitch.

Zidan Sertdemir: Zidan is definitely a great talent who has an enormous amount of ability. He's already shown that in the first sessions. He's an interesting lad. And at the same time: He still very young and could even play for the U17s. He showed a slight reaction to the first intensive session so that's why we're taking it easy with him. He will do individual work from time to time but he is intended to train with the first team as much as possible.