
Ann-Kathrin Vinken joined Bayer 04 for the 2018/19 season and went on to make 49 appearances for the Leverkusen Women’s team. Since the end of last season, after Vinken played 13 times, the 21-year-old has been struggling with a torn ankle ligament and will probably join the Women’s pre-season later on. “I’m very happy to be able to take the next steps with the team. We showed what we can do last season. The challenge now is to do that again in the coming season,” said Vinken.
Joyce Prabel said, “thanks to our great team and lots of passion in training last season, I have been able develop and extend my skills.” The 18-year-old made the step-up to the Bayer 04 Women’s team from the club’s U17s. The talented keeper is on course to start her eighth season at Leverkusen.
The Werkself are parting company with goalkeeper Anna Wellmann at the end of her contract. The 26-year-old, who joined the Bayer 04 Women from the Bayern Munich Reserves in the winter of the 2018/19 season, has opted to take the next step in her career by joining league rivals Turbine Potsdam.
“We thank Anna for her absolute commitment to Bayer 04 Leverkusen over the last two and a half years,” said Linda Schöttler, general manager of women’s football at Bayer 04. “We can fully understand her desire to take on a new challenge and get more time on the pitch and we want to support that. We wish Anna all the best from both sporting and personal perspectives.”

The Golden Boy Top 100 traditionally lists Europe’s most promising young players. In the latest update, published to mark the start of the new season, four current Werkself players – alongside loanee Francis Onyeka – feature on the list. This means Bayer 04 have the most players in contention of any Bundesliga club.
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Goalkeeper Rafaela Borggräfe will continue to play for Bayer 04 Leverkusen next season. The loan of the Germany U23 international, who joined from Liverpool in the winter, has been extended by a further year.
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The Bayer 04 delegation, led by Fernando Carro, CEO, concluded their multi-day trip to Brazil with a visit to the community-based organisation Bola Pra Frente in Rio de Janeiro – founded by former Werkself player Jorginho. During the visit, Bayer 04 committed to extending support for the Bola Pra Frente project for a further five years. In addition, Jorginho, a member of the Brazil 1994 World Cup-winning squad, was named Bayer 04’s second official club legend. With the visit to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the club has strengthened the relationships built up over the years in one of Bayer 04’s most important international markets.
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Ten years after retiring as a player, Kristina Sundov is returning to the Bayer 04 Women’s team as assistant coach. The 39-year-old former Croatia international takes over from Remzi Kahraman, who has taken up a new challenge abroad. She has been given a contract to 30 June 2028.
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The training pitches at the BayArena are already buzzing with activity again, even before training officially begins next week. On Monday morning, a small group from the Werkself first-team squad completed a session lasting around an hour. Both new and familiar faces were present.
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