Bayer Leverkusen has appointed a new head coach: Carles Martinez Novell will join the club on a free transfer. The 42-year-old comes from FC Toulouse. "We have been intensively dealing with the question of which trainer is best suited to the next development phase of Bayer 04", said Sport Director Simon Rolfes: "Carles Martinez Novell has successfully developed numerous young players in Toulouse and formed an international team into a strong unit." Martinez Novell, born in Barcelona, has been training the French first-division club FC Toulouse for three years. He will be able to join the club on a free transfer due to his expiring contract. He is scheduled to be presented in Leverkusen on Friday (05.06.2026) at 12:00. "The most important thing for me is to find a club where I can find myself and gain similar experiences like in Toulouse", he said in an interview with L'Equipe: "We can discuss salary and project, but it's important for me to feel that we work well together." Martinez Novell has never been an active professional footballer, but has a steep career on the coaching bench: The 42-year-old comes from Barcelona and began his coaching career in the youth departments of FC Barcelona and Espanyol Barcelona. After his time in his hometown, he worked as a youth coach in Qatar and Kuwait, before joining Toulouse as an assistant coach under Frenchman Philippe Montanier in the 2022/23 season. Martinez Novell, who led Toulouse to ninth place in the previous season and was still an assistant coach with the club when they won the cup in 2023, is expected to sign a two-year contract. It's the end of a long journey, as Hjulmand's departure from the club was likely during the still-running season. The 54-year-old had taken over Bayer after the 2nd matchday from Erik ten Hag and had stabilized the team with a strong first half, but the second half was disappointing. The team missed the qualification for the Champions League. At the end of May, an agreement with Spanish coach Andoni Iraola from AFC Bournemouth seemed to be in sight, but he was likely to be recruited by Liverpool. Brazilian Filipe Luis signed with AS Monaco, and Oliver Glasner, who won the Conference League with Crystal Palace, was also being handled. Now it's Martinez Novell.