Hi Zabba,

New to the site too and wanted to sign up and follow this as I myself have started a save as Bayer Leverkusen.

The ability of youngsters in Tah, Bailey, Brandt and Havertz especially are going to make this a brilliant save.

Thinking that this is going to be a 5 year save and I want to wrestle the Bundesliga away from Bayern!

To see Dragovic leave Europe so early in his career is disappointing (I'd take him back at Austria Wien) but hopefully you can fill his slot in the squad with another bright prospect

Defensive reinforcements arrive for Bayer 04

Bayer Leverkusen have reinforced their defence ahead of the upcoming season with the signing of Jannes Horn and loan deal for Eliaquim Mangala.

Following the departure of Aleksandar Dragovic, Leverkusen manager Michael Ballack has added depth to his back-line with the addition of two new defenders.

Attacking full-back Horn has been lured away from recently-relegated rivals FC Köln, with a fee of around £7.5 million spent on the 21-year-old.

The young German is noted for his attacking ability and high work rate and will be expected to provide strong competition for Wendell on Bayer's left-hand side this season.

Mangala, on the other hand, joins the reds on a season-long loan deal from current Premier League champions Manchester City.

The 27-year-old joins off the back of an unsuccessful loan spell with Everton and a 6-month-injury layoff but Bayer are willing to take a chance on the French defender recapturing his best form at the BayArena.

The Frenchman is in the last year of his deal at the Etihad and Bayer will be eyeing up the possibility of striking a bargain deal for the towering centre back should he come good this season.

Two very good acquisitions made there that dramatically improve the defence.

Thanks for all your kind messages, the support on this has been immense! Haven't been able to reply to all your comments so far but will do my best to keep up with feedback once the season gets underway properly - Cheers, Zabba

2018-11-04 15:41#251973 ScottT : A huge loss there, in terms of financially; however he simply hasn't worked out and Ballack cannot be blamed for getting rid. The signing of De Jong is an interesting one and his potential is huge, hopefully he is able to show it at Leverkusen.

Dragovic was definitely a tricky one - the deal goes against my transfer philosophy of trying to make a profit on deals wherever possible, however his high wages will be much better spent elsewhere.

2018-11-08 07:38#252111 mgriffin2012 : To see Dragovic leave Europe so early in his career is disappointing (I'd take him back at Austria Wien) but hopefully you can fill his slot in the squad with another bright prospect

It was a shame to see him go, however I'm hoping it will be a great opportunity for Retsos to step up now and hopefully fulfil some of his huge potential at centre back.

2018-11-07 10:27#252062 mwillo91 : Hi Zabba,

New to the site too and wanted to sign up and follow this as I myself have started a save as Bayer Leverkusen.

The ability of youngsters in Tah, Bailey, Brandt and Havertz especially are going to make this a brilliant save.

Thinking that this is going to be a 5 year save and I want to wrestle the Bundesliga away from Bayern!

Welcome! Great minds and all that Bayer definitely have one of the most promising young squads I've seen in FM, looking forward to seeing how you get on!

A great squad at your disposal, it'll be interesting to see how things go. What are your expectations? I'm interested to know!

2018-11-10 14:33#252200 ScottT : A great squad at your disposal, it'll be interesting to see how things go. What are your expectations? I'm interested to know!

The board have asked that as a minimum this year we qualify for the Europa League - but personally I'd be disappointed if we finished anywhere other than top 4 this season.

With us being in the Europa League this time as well, I'd love us have a go at winning at a European trophy. There's some big teams in there though (Chelsea etc.) so it's going to be a tough ask!

Leverkusen off to winning start

Michael Ballack’s career as Bayer Leverkusen manager got off to a winning start after his team came from behind to record a 3-1 win against rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Things didn’t get off to the best of starts for Bayer 04 at Borussia-Park in the first half, the visitors finding themselves a goal behind before the half hour mark.

The newly-introduced Video Assistant Referee was called into action early on, awarding a tight penalty decision against Leon Bailey for a trip on Christoph Kramer.

Thorgan Hazard stepped up and cooly converted the penalty for Mönchengladbach in the 25th minute ensuring the home side were a goal to the good going into half-time.

However Leverkusen came out with the attacking impetus after the break, spearheaded by Leon Bailey, who atoned for his error with the equaliser in the 55th minute.

Found by De Jong with a pass out to the right wing, the Jamaican cutting inside two defenders before smashing a sweet left footed strike into the bottom corner.

It looked as if the match might finish level until a devastating counter-attack led by Havertz in midfield saw Bailey square for Baumgartlinger who tapped home in the 83rd minute to give Bayer the lead.

Ballack’s side sealed the three points just minutes later, Bailey once again escaping down the right-hand side and crossing to Brandt who bundled the ball home to seal a deserved win for the visitors.

Attendance: 54,010

Leon Bailey (55)
Julian Baumgartlinger (83)
Julian Brandt (87)
Leon Bailey (Bayer Leverkusen)

Cracking result to start the season. Hopefully the start of a successful season! I totally understand why you'd be disappointed not to get into the top four, given the quality in the squad.

That's a huge result to get! Good to see Bailey & Brandt get on the score sheet too, they'll be important players this season.

Fantastic win over Gladbach \o/ Good signings as well

Brilliant start for Leverkusen, Gladbach could well be one of the teams challenging this season or alternatively they could finish mid table again but either way that is a huge three points