Chelsea return to action for the first time since winning this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup when they host Bayer Leverkusen in a preseason friendly.

Erik ten Hag has warned he can’t work Harry Potter-style magic to forge a new-look Bayer Leverkusen into a true team as the ex-Manchester United manager prepares for his first game in charge.

As Fabrice Hawkins reports, Bayer Leverkusen have reached an agreement with Sevilla for defender Loïc Badé. The exchange of documents is already said to be underway and his trip to Germany is scheduled for this week. Kicker.de believes Bayer Leverkusen are set to pay a fee of €25million plus €4million in add-ons for Badé.

Chelsea have beaten Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 in their first pre-season friendly. After making a bright start on his Stamford Bridge debut, new signing Estevao scored the opening goal, tapping in from close range after Cole Palmer had hit the crossbar.

Erik ten Hag has made a winning start as Bayer Leverkusen coach with a 4-0 result at fourth-tier team Sonnenhof Großaspach in the first round of the German Cup.

Inter Milan will reportedly lose out on the battle for the signature of Loic Bade, who is close to joining Bayer Leverkusen.According to RMC Sports via FCInterNews, the German heavyweights have

Bayer Leverkusen are closing in on the signing of Loic Bade from Sevilla, having struck up a deal with the Spanish side amid links to Inter.