Football Season Guide

It was another disappointing campaign for Bayer Leverkusen last season as they once again finished outside the top four in the league table, just about managing to hold on to a sixth placed finish despite a late slump in form. Bayer had changed managers for the final third of the season, bringing in Hannes Wolf on an interim basis, and have since appointed a permanent coach in Gerardo Seoane. It has been a summer of change in more ways than one for Bayer who have let go of a number of players who were a regular part of the lineup with Lars Bender and Sven Bender both having retired while Leon Bailey has been sold to Aston Villa. Aleksandar Dragovic is the other significant departee while Tin Jedvaj has also been sold, leaving Bayer a bit light in the defensive options. Bayer have looked to address the issue by spending big on Odilon Kossounou, with the defender arriving from Club Brugge, while Mitchel Bakker is another with potential, signed from Paris St Germain. Bayer struggled with injuries last season, especially in the midfield and defense and the club will be hoping for a better luck on that front this time around. Seoane will also be looking to get his side playing in a consistent manner, with inconsistency being a major issue for Bayer over the last couple of seasons. On paper Bayer do have a squad that should be challenging for a place in the top four though injuries and consistency will remain an issue heading into the new season.