Fulham have signed goalkeeper Bernd Leno from Arsenal on a three-year contract in a deal worth up to Ā£8m. The club also has an option to extend the 30-year-old German’s stay by a further 12 months. Speaking to FFCtv, Leno said: āIt feels amazing to finally be here. I canāt wait to join the team, to train and play with the team. āIām relieved that everything is done. Iām just happy to be here. It took a little bit of time but in the end we made it, and thatās the most important thing.ā
Tony Khan added: āBernd Leno is the goalkeeper whom we have pursued steadfastly throughout this transfer window, and weāre very excited that weāve reached a transfer agreement and heās now fully committed to Fulham! āHe has played at the highest level, and heāll bring this experience and his leadership to our team. Heāll be a great addition to Marcoās squad, who are all excited for the season ahead! Come on Fulham!ā
Having come through the ranks at VfB Stuttgart, Leno joined Bayer Leverkusen on loan at the age of 19, and immediately established himself as the clubās number one. Leno performed at a level that belied his young age, becoming only the third goalkeeper in Bundesliga history to secure clean sheets in his first three matches, before breaking the record for the youngest ākeeper to appear in the Champions League shortly after. Leverkusen soon made the deal permanent, and Leno went on to enjoy seven excellent seasons at the BayArena, making 304 appearances and keeping 100 clean sheets.
The lowest the club finished, in six of those seven campaigns, was fifth. His consistency in Germany prompted Arsenal to bring Leno to London for a fee reported to be north of Ā£20m ahead of the 2018/19 campaign. Leno quickly displaced Petr Cech between the sticks, and ended his first season at the club with a Europa League runner-up medal, before finishing second in the clubās player of the season vote a year later.
He departs the Emirates with plenty of Premier League experience under his belt, and also claimed 37 clean sheets in his 125 appearances across all competitions. Manuel Neuerās stranglehold on the national teamās No.1 jersey has meant opportunities for other German goalkeepers has been limited over the years, but Leno has still represented his country on nine occasions, and was in the squad for last summerās European Championship.