Only a total of 5 additions in 2022/23
After an initially successful start to the Bundesliga year 2023, Bayer 04 Leverkusen have returned to disillusionment after the defeats against Dortmund and Augsburg. The Werkself, who are tenth in the table, are currently twelve points away from their goal for the season of qualifying for the Champions League, but managing director Simon Rolfes has not yet given up his hopes for the “premier class” – the 41-year-old has now announced a change in the squad for the coming summer , under which the club will also pursue a different transfer policy.
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Leverkusen only signed five newcomers in the 2022/23 season, three of which came in winter – only SC Freiburg, Borussia Mönchengladbach and RB Leipzig signed just as few new players (for an overview: all Bundesliga club transfers). “The orientation in the summer was to keep the team together and to strengthen it in certain areas. That will definitely be different this summer,” Rolfes announced in an interview with the “table football‘ and added: ‘We will use the summer to realign the squad with ambition. It will be a different summer than the last. If only because of the contract terms, there will be a lot more movement. Our approach of keeping everyone was unusual for Bayer. This was of course at the expense of purchases. In retrospect, one can say that more movement in the squad would have been good, although I believe that neither one nor the other is the panacea.
With a squad value of around 416 million euros, Bayer is one of the four most valuable teams in the Bundesliga, but had to accept injuries from top players such as Patrik Schick and Florian Wirtz and fell short of expectations in sporting terms. After the worst start to the season in the club’s history, Xabi Alonso took over as coach from the previously hapless Gerardo Seoane at the beginning of October. Even under the Spaniard (points average 1.5), Leverkusen have not yet consistently returned to the road to success, apart from a few bright spots. However, Rolfes does not want to throw the goal for the season overboard just yet: “Of course it will be difficult, but that was it during the winter break,” says the managing director, who among other things gives hope that “with Florian Wirtz and Patrik Schick, we have been missing that for a long time are getting two players back, little by little, who were the standouts last season.”
“Xabi took over the team in an extremely insecure state. You had to lay a foundation. That was the defensive stability. We have made huge progress there – individually and as a group. Now we have to develop the playful component. That wasn’t possible in the fall. It was all about results,” Rolfes continued. Six contracts, including that of ex-national player Karim Bellarabi, expire at Bayer at the end of the season. The club boss is not afraid of a “mass flight” in the summer if the team misses out on international business: “We have long-term contracts with many players, and we are in charge of almost all of them, so we also have the strength have to say no. That’s why I’m relaxed.”
22x over 10 million: Bayer Leverkusen’s most expensive additions
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