“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.”
Bayer 04 are through to the second round of the DFB Pokal after a 4-0 win at Sonnenhof Großaspach on Friday night. The game was paused after only 18 minutes due to a storm over the ground. After a lengthy delay, play resumed and Patrik Schick opened the scoring. Arthur, Christian Kofane and Alejandro Grimaldo made things more comfortable in the second half, as the fourth-tier side had two players sent off.
Show moreThere were no goals across 115 minutes of football between Bayer 04 Women and PSV Eindhoven in Friday’s friendly. Roberto Pätzold’s team played two 45-minute periods before an extra 25 minutes two days prior to heading to Rieden for their training camp. Their Dutch opponents were preparing for their UEFA Women’s Champions League qualifier in 12 days.
Show moreThe first round of the DFB Pokal takes Bayer 04 to Sonnenhof Großaspach on Friday. The amateur club have just gained promotion to the fourth-tier Regionalliga Südwest and kicked off their campaign with two impressive wins. Here’s all you need to know as Erik ten Hag makes his competitive bow as Werkself boss at the WIRmachenDRUCK Arena (kick-off: 6pm CEST).
Show moreAfter two months preparing for the new season, the Werkself play the first game of the 2025/26 campaign on Friday, 15 August (kick-off: 18:00 CEST) away to SG Sonnenhof Großaspach in the first round of the DFB Pokal. Ahead of the tie against the team newly promoted to the Regional League South West, head coach Erik ten Hag talked about his approach to the knockout game and his soft spot for cup competitions.
Show moreBayer 04 Leverkusen has a new Premium Partner in its ranks in Düsseldorf company LumenHaus GmbH. The leading provider of networked home energy solutions has initially agreed a one-year partnership with the Bundesliga runners-up to the end of the 2025/26 season.
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