Brentford and Bayer Leverkusen reach full agreement on €10m Mark Flekken transfer | OneFootball

Sport Bild reports that – after rejecting an initial lowball bid for keeper Mark Flekken – Brentford have apparently opted not to engage in much of a bidding war with Bayer Leverkusen. Negotiations for the 31-year-old’s return to the Bundesliga were concluded much earlier than expected. Brentford shall receive €10m in exchange for their No. 1; some €3m less than initially requested.

Flekken is set to become Leverkusen’s new first choice keeper; an odd development that at least keeps pace with Flekken’s odd career trajectory. Leverkusen appeared to have many “keepers of the future” over the past few years. It simply hasn’t materialized for the likes of Matej Kovar, Patrick Pence, and Lennard Grill. Squad captain Lukas Hradecky (35) has long shown signs of being past his prime.

Hence, it will be the former Freiburg man who takes up the mantle between the sticks. Flekken – famously lampooned for one of football’s greatest goalkeeping blunders whilst and MSV Duisburg – spent three years as a back-up (in part due to injury problems) at Freiburg before finally getting his chance as a Bundesliga starter, and later a Dutch international, in 2021 at the age of 28.

A pair of successful seasons under SCF head coach Christian Streich during the 2021/22 and 2022/23 campaigns enabled him to pump his estimated market value up from €2m to €12m. Freiburg sold him to Brentford for €13m two summers ago.

GGFN | Peter Weis