Official: Kasper Hjulmand will be the new coach of Bayer Leverkusen

Dane Kasper Hjulmand is taking over as coach of Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen. The coach is known from his time at Mainz 05.

The Dane will take over the runner-up immediately and signed a contract until 2027, as the club confirmed on Monday. "Bild" and "Kicker" had previously reported on an agreement. Before signing, Hjulmand had to terminate his consulting contract with the Danish FA, where he had been employed since the summer of 2024.

"We are delighted to have signed Kasper Hjulmand, whose work we have followed closely for a long time," explained Sporting Director Simon Rolfes. According to Rolfes, the decisive factor was the connection through Hjulmand's former assistant coach, Ismael Camenforte: "For several years, his assistant coach with the Danish national team, Ismael Camenforte, also worked for us. His training methodology is therefore well known at our club, and Kasper also knows our club very well from the past few years."

Hjulmand: "Bayer is a highly ambitious club"

Hjulmand looks forward to his new role with excitement: "I've always perceived Bayer 04 as a very well-managed, well-structured, and highly ambitious club. This impression has been confirmed in recent days. It's an honor to be entrusted with such a team."

The 53-year-old is well-known in Germany from his time at Mainz 05, where he was in charge of a total of 24 matches between July 2014 and February 2015. However, he only managed five of those. He then worked successfully at FC Nordsjælland in the Danish league from 2016 to 2019, averaging 1.44 points in his 124 matches.

Working in and with Denmark successfully

He then acted as a consultant for the club before becoming Denmark's national coach in 2020. Hjulmand's team sensationally reached the semifinals of the 2021 European Championship, which was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, and successfully qualified for the 2024 European Championship. There, Denmark reached the knockout rounds but lost 2-0 to Germany in the round of 16.

Hjulmand resigned after the tournament. The Dane will succeed Dutchman Erik ten Hag, who was dismissed after just two Bundesliga matchdays, and will make his Bundesliga debut for Bayer against Eintracht Frankfurt. Hjulmand's Bayer Champions League campaign begins with a very special away game: in his hometown against FC Copenhagen.

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