Bayer 04 Women sign forward Vanessa Fudalla

“Vanessa has demonstrated her quality and efficiency in finishing at an impressive rate over several years. She has also played in all league games in the past two seasons,” said Bayer 04 Women sporting director Achim Feifel. “At 23, she still has great development potential and can be deployed in all positions in attack. That makes her a very good fit for our philosophy.”

Born in Nuremberg, Fudalla has scored 69 goals in 107 competitive matches for Leipzig since 2020. She was promoted to the Bundesliga with the club in 2023 as top scorer in the second division (20 goals). She has scored 10 goals in each of the past two seasons. The 23-year-old also has one goal in four caps for Germany’s U23s.

“After five years at Leipzig, it's time for me to take on a new challenge. Leverkusen has always been a very attractive club for me,” said Fudalla. “When the people in charge got in touch, I didn't have to think twice. The development of the past season in particular shows that a lot is possible here. I would like to play a part in this and strengthen the team with my qualities.”