U19 centre-back Andrea Natali was called up to the Italian U19 squad and joined up with his compatriots near Madrid. In a friendly against Spain on the final day of the camp, the Leverkusen youngster played the full match and more than held his own among team-mates who were mostly two years older. It finished 1-0 to the Spaniards.
No fewer than three players from the Bayer 04 academy were named in Marc Meister's German U17 squad. Ben Hawighorst, Jeremiah Mensah and Nebe Domnic took part in the first ten-day camp of the new year on the Spanish Mediterranean coast, where two friendlies against Portugal were also held.
Hawighorst and Domnic started in the first game and were brought off at half-time as planned after pleasing displays. At the start of the second period, Mensah came on and caught the eye in attack, converting a penalty in the subsequent shootout - which Portugal won - among other things.
Friendly number two began with all three Leverkusen boys in the starting line-up. Hawighorst was forced off with an injury during the first half, while Domnic and Mensah were replaced at the break.
Germany's U16 head coach André Pawlak also counted on Leverkusen personnel in his roster. Elia Datené and Ivan Massek travelled to the Spanish Mediterranean coast for 10 days and, like the U17s, took part in two friendlies against their Portuguese counterparts. The Bayer 04 pair came on at the restart in the first encounter, with Massek scoring the equaliser for 1-1. Both were on target in the concluding penalty shootout. The second friendly also ended in a draw after regular time (2-2), with Datené and Massek playing the first half.
Coming up in February are the U17 Algarve Cup in Portugal as well as an U16 UEFA development tournament.
A new look and new kit supplier for the 2025/26 campaign: Bayer 04 in tandem with sports equipment manufacturer New Balance present the official kit for the Leverkusen eSports players the coming season. New partner Sinology appears on the top right of the jersey. Menswear outfitters Lerros is still the main eSports sponsor and Niedax remains the sleeve partner. The jersey is available now from the Bayer 04 online shop and the Fanwelt.
Show moreBosnia U19 international Kerim Alajbegovic is moving from Bayer 04 Leverkusen's youth set-up to Red Bull Salzburg. The talented attacking midfielder has signed a long-term contract with the Austrian club. At the same time, the works club secured a buy-back option for the 17-year-old, who was one of the mainstays of the Leverkusen U19s.
Show morePreparations for the 2025/26 season at Bayer 04 start next Monday, 7 July, with the first team and youth players training together. Without the international players who were involved with their national teams at the end of last season, new head coach Erik ten Hag will welcome a group of senior and youth players to the first open training session one week ahead of the departure to the training camp in Rio de Janeiro. After the official welcome in the dressing room, the Werkself players will start the session in the shadow of the BayArena on 7 July at 14:00 CEST.
Show moreThe Werkself are away to Premier League club Chelsea in the final pre-season friendly. The game against the current holders of the UEFA Conference League is on Friday, 8 August at Stamford Bridge with the kick-off at 20:00 CEST. Read on for information on ticket sales.
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