Exclusive: Brentford fear Flekken exit amid Leverkusen update
Brentford fear losing number one goalkeeper Mark Flekken to Bayer Leverkusen this summer, sources have told Football Insider.
The 2023-24 Bundesliga victors are planning to bolster their goalkeeping department ahead of next season, with Lukas Hradecky and Matej Kovar having been rotated between the sticks this campaign.
Dutch international Flekken features highly on Leverkusen’s wanted list with the keeper highly-regarded in Germany, having impressed at Freiburg prior to his move to Brentford in the summer of 2023.
The 31-year-old has been instrumental for Brentford this season, keeping seven clean sheets in 34 Premier League appearances and he has won eight caps for his native Netherlands.
The Bees are still in the hunt for European football next season, currently sitting ninth in the league and just a single point off the Europa Conference League places.
Brentford face summer transfer raid
Flekken is not the only Brentford player that is attracting outside interest, with a number of Thomas Frank’s squad potentially on the move.
Football Insider exclusively revealed that Nottingham Forest are interested in Yoane Wissa, with Brentford braced for offers in the summer.
Wissa has been playing as a striker since Ivan Toney departed and the forward has scored 18 Premier League goals this season.
| Position | Name | Goals |
| 1 | Mo Salah | 28 |
| 2 | Alexander Isak | 23 |
| 3 | Erling Haaland | 21 |
| 4 | Chris Wood | 19 |
| 5 | Bryan Mbeumo | 18 |
| 6 | Yoane Wissa | 18 |
Fellow attacker Bryan Mbeumo is also subject of heavy interest from Premier League clubs, with Newcastle keeping tabs on the Cameroon international.
Brentford may accept a £50million bid from Newcastle for Mbeumo this summer, as exclusively revealed by Football Insider.
Flekken rumours swirling despite Alonso departure
If Flekken makes the move to Leverkusen, he won’t be working under Xabi Alonso, after the former Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich midfielder announced he will be leaving at the end of the season.
Alonso had been strongly linked with Liverpool after Jurgen Klopp departed last summer, but decided to stay in Germany.
The 43-year-old guided Leverkusen to their first-ever Bundesliga title last season in a historic unbeaten domestic campaign, as well as winning the DFB-Pokal and reaching the Europa League final.
However, the Spaniard was unable to repeat the success this season, as Bayern Munich clinched the Bundesliga title with two games to spare.