Mark Flekken #23

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A real late bloomer. Flekken made his top-flight debut for Freiburg at the age of 25, after spending years playing in Germany’s lower divisions, where he once scored with a backheel for MSV Duisburg. At Freiburg he caught the eye of national team coach, Louis van Gaal, in 2022, and while he didn’t make the cut for the World Cup that year, he was named second-choice for Euro 2024 by Ronald Koeman, having impressed in England following 2023’s £11m move to Brentford. He left London last year for Bayer Leverkusen, with Phil Giles, Brentford’s director of football, saying: “We were expecting Mark to be our goalkeeper for many more years, but … he made it clear that he was interested in moving closer to home and with a possibility of Champions League football.” He sustained a knee injury in January, then struggled for consistency on his return, admitting in April his form had been patchy. “I'm a prime example of our problem. My performances haven't been consistent. It doesn't have to be a 10 out of 10 in every game, or even an 8. But an average of 6.5 or 7, then you're a very good keeper.”

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