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Bundesliga Bayer Leverkusen have appointed Kasper Hjulmand as head coach following the sacking of Erik ten Hag. Leverkusen dismissed Ten Hag on September 1 after just three games in charge. Hjulmand, 52, had been out of football since leaving his position as head coach of the Denmark national team following the 2024 European Championship last summer. He has signed a two-year contract at Leverkusen through to 2027. Our new head coach – Kasper Hjulmand takes charge of the Werkself until 2027! ? pic. twitter. com/0anw KDo0Wq — Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) September 8, 2025 It marks the Dane’s return to the club game for the first time since he left Danish side Nordsjaelland for a second time in 2019. Advertisement His only previous job in one of Europe’s top five domestic leagues was seven months with Leverkusen’s Bundesliga rivals Mainz in 2014-15. Hjulmand spent just shy of four years with Denmark with the high point being the run to the semi-finals of Euro 2020, losing 2-1 to England after extra-time. He won 32 of his 54 matches in charge. Ten Hag, 55, replaced Xabi Alonso in the summer following his departure to Real Madrid. Alonso led Leverkusen to the first Bundesliga title in the club’s history during the 2023-24 campaign. Ten Hag criticised Leverkusen shortly after his exit, arguing he and the club “never (had) a relationship based on mutual trust”. The club began the Bundesliga season with a 2-1 defeat by Hoffenheim, before letting a 3-1 lead to 10-man Werder Bremen, to draw 3-3 at the Weserstadion. Ten Hag’s one competitive win in charge came against fourth-tier side Sonnenhof Grossaspach in the DFB Pokal. Leverkusen lost a number of key players during the summer transfer window; Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz both moved to Liverpool, captain Granit Xhaka left for Sunderland, Jonathan Tah joined Bayern Munich on a free transfer and Piero Hincapie signed for Arsenal. Leverkusen are 12th in the Bundesliga after picking up one point from their opening two games. The club won the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal during 2023-24, going the entire domestic season unbeaten to end Bayern Munich’s run of 11 successive German top-flight titles. They return to action against Eintracht Frankfurt on September 12. (Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Colin Millar is a Staff Writer for The Athletic. Prior to joining The Athletic, Colin was European Football writer at Mirror Football. From Belfast, he is the author of The Frying Pan of Spain: Sevilla vs Real Betis, Spain’s Hottest Football Rivalry, and he can be found on Twitter/X: @Millar_Colin Follow Colin on Twitter @Millar_Colin