Ten Hag wants signings to build new Leverkusen era
Erik ten Hag urged his new Bayer Leverkusen side to begin building a new era at the club after a busy off-season that has seen players come and go.
Ten Hag will take charge of his second competitive game since replacing Xabi Alonso at Leverkusen when it takes on Hoffenheim in their Bundesliga opener on Saturday.
The Dutchman oversaw a comfortable 4-0 triumph over Grossaspach in the DFB Pokal, although Leverkusen has experienced an overhaul to its 2024-2025 squad.
Leverkusen has seen Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong join Liverpool, while Granit Xhaka and Jonathan Tah moved to Sunderland and Bayern Munich, respectively.
Ten Hag has welcomed 14 new faces to his ranks, with Leverkusen aiming to regain the Bundesliga crown it surrendered to Bayern last season.
"We did everything to be optimally prepared," Ten Hag said. "It has a lot to do with the team spirit. In the changing room the players are growing together.
"A lot of players have stayed and they bring a specific culture. That remains. The new players have understood the club culture. I have had major overhauls in the past.
"That's the challenge. It is good because it needed it.
"An era comes to an end at some point and this has happened here and we now start building a new era and we all are working very hard towards that every day."
Leverkusen's summer business was headlined by the arrival of Malik Tillman from PSV Eindhoven in a €35 million ($63.2 million) deal, which is a joint-club record fee for the Bundesliga side.
Jarell Quansah, Loic Bade and Ernest Poku have also joined the club, while Leverkusen also completed a loan move for Manchester City's Claudio Echeverri.
Tillman made 34 appearances across all competitions for PSV in 2024-2025, scoring 16 goals and registering five assists to help his team lift the Eredivisie title.
