By Ben McFadyean.
With Xabi Alonso’s departure to Real Madrid, many feared Bayer 04’s era as Bayern’s primary challenger could be over. Today’s news of Eric Ten Hag’s appointment may have ended that, but can the Dutchman stop the sell-out and return the club from the Rhein to success?
Only a year after the team ended the moniker ‘Neverkusen’ once and for all by winning the double, a big reset lies ahead; the manager selected for that task is Eric Ten Hag, who, as confirmed by the club today, has been appointed on a contract until June 2027.
What are the challenges ahead? And why is the Dutchman the right one for the job?
Leverkusen’s 23/24 season was a sensation. They won the title without a single league defeat, with 28 wins and six draws. Even more remarkably, Alonso led the side to an unprecedented run of 51 competitive matches without defeat in top European football, clinching the cup win and a place in a European final—a season any top club would be proud of.
In the past season, Leverkusen has struggled to find consistent form at times and often when it was least expected. Remember them trying and failing to break down Holstein Kiel in a 2:2 draw at home, or their implausibly difficult tie and ultimate cup exit with third-tier Arminia Bielefeld in the Pokal?
No matter how impressively a club climbs to the top, staying there — as many have found out to their detriment — is an altogether different challenge. Think BVB’s fall from 2002 Meister to a 17-point gap behind Bayern and third place in 2002/03.
The hunger to succeed can only be met with more victories and titles. For the manager and leading sporting consultant Rudi Völler, no player on or off the pitch had ever experienced the degree of success achieved by the club.
Few European managers have mastered motivating winners to achieve more than the 114-time Spain international. Serial winners like Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp don’t come along very often.
However, they may have found one in Eric Ten Hag. The main challenge at present is the risk of a brain drain, which has been growing by the day. CEO Fernando Carro, the architect of the club’s recent success, has his work cut out for him.
Regarding Ten Hag’s suitability, some skills are almost a prerequisite in the search for a new manager in the Bundesliga. One of those is a strong command of the German language. Very few, except Giovanni Trappatoni, who won the Meisterschaft and DFB Pokal with Bayern Munich, have succeeded with only very limited language skills in the German league.
The 55-year-old Dutchman, who led Ajax to three titles and the cup twice between 2018 and 22, speaks German fluently, so the language barrier is no issue. His demonstrable success in Germany sets the former center-back apart. He led Bayern’s U23s to the 2014 Regionalliga title and promotion to the third tier 3. Liga.
However, things did not go according to plan for Ten Hag in the Premier League. A third place and League Cup win in 22/23 was followed by a Champions League exit at the bottom of their group; the FA Cup win and resulting Europa League place did little to satisfy the faithful. With the club in 14th, the manager, who as a player achieved his greatest success in winning the KNVB Dutch cup with Twente in 2001, was dismissed in November.
Ruben Amorim, who impressively led Sporting Lisbon to three finals and two cup titles between 2020 and 25, has fared even worse since taking over in November. That will very much have redeemed the Dutch coach. In a campaign that a Sky Sports commentator described as ‘The worst in the club’s history’, the Reds finish this season outside of the European places in 8th and, more notably, fail to win the Europa League.
Dennis Gentenaar, former Ajax player and current coach at Ukrainian first division side Metalist 1925 Kharkiv, expressed his doubts about the appointment: “Erik is a great coach, but players seem to be leaving; he will have to prove himself once more at the Bayarena.”
But the club’s sporting director, former defensive midfielder Simon Rolfes, justified the signing at today’s press conference: “Eric Ten Hag dominated Dutch football between 2018 and 2025”. Dominating the Bundesliga, however, is a different challenge.
The cultural and historical relationship between Holland and Germany has not always been easy, and Dutch coaches’ results in the Bundesliga have followed a mixed pattern. Rinus Michels, who had had a trophy-laden career, failed to deliver with Leverkusen, finishing 8th in 1988-89.
The Leverkusen tenure of Peter Bosz, although the form improved greatly and convinced many critics, was still regarded as a missed opportunity with only a DFB Pokal final to show between 2018-21.
Dick Advocaat, who brought European glory to St Petersburg and titles to Rangers, also failed to make an impact with Mönchengladbach, with the club finishing in the bottom four in 09/10.
With other Bundesliga clubs, Dutch coaches have, however, proven that culture can be no obstacle; Huub Stevens led Schalke 04 to the UEFA Cup title, two Pokal wins, and a second-place finish and is regarded as one of the best coaches in the club’s history. Louis van Gaal led Bayern to the double in 09/10.
Either way, Ten Hag’s first task is to stabilize the squad and stop the talent drain — which is in full swing if media reports are to be believed. A fair amount of that threat is from former Eredivisie contemporary, Liverpool’s Arne Slot.
The Daily Mail reports that Dutch international winger Jeremie Frimpong is close to finalizing the terms of a €35m transfer to Liverpool. There has been speculation that €50 m-rated Piero Hincapie is also on Slot’s radar for the defensive rebuild at Anfield in light of Virgil van Dijk’s almost certain exit.
Slot, who made no transfers in the summer and still went on to the title, no mean feat, is also linked to Florian Wirtz. The striker, who has twenty-two scoring points this season, has also held meetings with Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola but has indicated an interest in remaining in the Bundesliga. Bayern Munich has also shown interest in bringing the Pulheim-born super talent in as a back-up for Harry Kane.
According to Kicker and other reputable sources, Bayern Munich is also about to capture Germany international center-back Jonathan Tah on a free transfer, with contract details yet to be announced.
Of the other key players, center-forward Victor Boniface — who has scored 22 goals since joining Union Saint-Gilloise — is attracting keen interest from Newcastle United. According to the Daily Mail, a €55m deal is on the table. Boniface has a contract until 2028.
Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka, who turns 33 later this year, has also recently been linked with Galatasaray and Roma. Likewise, Alejandro Grimaldo is also in demand with Atletico Madrid, reported by Futbol Espans as being interested.
Right-back Nordi Mukiele and attacking midfielder Emiliano Buendia, an Aston Villa loanee, are among the other contracts that expire in the summer. Despite only making 10 appearances, the latter looked like a shrewd move and could contribute generously to the club if held.
Sporting director Simon Rolfes must work hard to provide countermeasures to stabilize the team at its very high level and build around the side’s core. Atalanta loanee Odilon Koussounou, a 25-time Ivory Coast center-back, and 20-year-old midfield talent Noah Mbamba may be recalled at the end of the season.
In terms of reinforcements, Bayer 04 are linked to VfL Wolfsburg striker Mohamed Amoura and Chelsea’s Jadon Sancho, who is looking to reignite his career by returning to the Bundesliga, where he has excelled. Eintracht’s Robin Koch is also being considered to replace Jonathan Tah. Leading French sports publication L’Equipe today also reports that Bayer Leverkusen has expressed interest in Rennes striker Arnaud Kalimuendo (23), who finished the 2024-2025 Ligue 1 campaign as the division’s third top scorer with 17 goals.
The prospects for Ten Hag are good either way; the club from the Rhein achieved an impressive revenue of €300m in 23/24 and reached the final of the Europa League in May. They can also count on a fantastic crop of players coming up from the youth set-up, including Ukrainian U19 international Artem Stepanov, who has scored 21 goals in the Bundesliga-West. The U19s, managed by former La Masia academy coach Sergi Runge, have won the Deutsche Meisterschaft nine times.
Despite disappointing the die-hards, Leverkusen’s second-place finish in 24/25 is their second-highest Bundesliga points return ever: 69 points this last season, which only just falls short of the previous record of 73 points accrued in the 1999/2000 campaign under the late Christoph Daum.
Speaking at the press conference, the newly appointed manager underlined his ambition: “I’ve come to Leverkusen to continue with the ambition shown in recent years. It’s an attractive challenge to set up something together in this period of change.”
Rolfes and Del Carro are not risk averse. Signing Alonso was a big gamble, as he brought only over two years of coaching experience when he joined from Real Sociedad B, the development team. It worked.
There may be some doubts about Eric Ten Hag based on his tenure at Old Trafford, and his arrival will for sure put an end to Jadon Sancho’s interest, but he brings outstanding tactical awareness, and he is a proven winner, and that is what the club needs above all. His first task for now will be rebuilding the team; transfer budgets will not be an obstacle.