Goalie Flekken leaves Brentford for Bayer Leverkusen in pursuit of Champions League glory

By Canadian Press on June 3, 2025.

LEVERKUSEN, Germany (AP) — Bayer Leverkusen completed the signing of goalkeeper Mark Flekken from Brentford on Tuesday.

The Netherlands international signed a three-year deal until June 30, 2028, for an undisclosed fee.

“Mark Flekken possesses a wide range of skills that a goalkeeper in modern top-flight football needs,” Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes said. “He has strong reflexes, good control of the penalty area, and, thanks to his height of 1.95 meters, has tremendous reach.

“Mark exudes an impressive physical presence; from a footballing perspective, he has certainly been one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League over the past two years.”

The 31-year-old Flekken spent two years at Brentford, making 77 appearances for the Premier League club.

“We were expecting Mark to be our goalkeeper for many more years, however when Bayer Leverkusen made it known that they wanted to do this transfer, and Mark made it clear that he was interested in moving closer to home and with a possibility of Champions League football, we turned our attention towards how all parties could make this happen,” Brentford director of football Phil Giles said.

Flekken previously played in Germany with Duisburg and Freiburg, but has the chance to compete for the biggest titles with the 2024 Bundesliga champion, which has just hired former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag as its new coach.

“To be able to contribute my qualities to a top German club with ambitious national and European goals now makes me very happy,” Flekken said. “I love the Bundesliga and, of course, I’m also looking forward to challenging for the Champions League with the Werkself.”

Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher is expected to replace Flekken at Brentford.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

The Associated Press