"Sofie has already developed into a seasoned Bundesliga player for us at a young age," said Achim Feifel, Bayer 04 Women sporting director. "To already have such a central role in the team before the age of 20 is anything but a matter of course. She is thus also an example to the other young players in our squad, so we're very glad that we've been able to tie her to us for the long term. Her potential for development is far from exhausted."
Having made her Bundesliga debut in March 2021 at the age of 16, the Germany U20 international racked up her 50th competitive appearance for Leverkusen in the 1-0 defeat at RB Leipzig last time out. The daughter of ex-Werkself midfielder Thomas Zdebel has featured in 17 out of 19 Bundesliga matches this season, starting 16 of them.
"I have close ties here through my family and friends, I've been able to progress very well in the last six years and have established myself as a Bundesliga player," explained Zdebel. "The conditions and the environment here are just a great fit. I want to continue on this journey with the club."
The Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog, you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. The programme for day two (Monday, 3 August) centres on two training sessions – one in the morning (open to the public) and one in the early evening (behind closed doors) – at the nearby training grounds. In the afternoon, fans can look forward to a big fan meet-up with club legend Paulo Sergio at Schloss Blankenhain.
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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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