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Levante complete loan signing of Bayer Leverkusen's Tape

·By Carlos Volcano
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Levante complete loan signing of Bayer Leverkusen's Tape

Levante/X.com

Levante have completed the loan signing of Axel Tape from Bayer Leverkusen, adding midfield steel following Kevin Arriaga's departure.

The move confirms an exit that had been expected at Bayer Leverkusen for some time, with the Bundesliga club having already reshaped its entire right side this window through the arrivals of Guéla Doué and Arthur's departure to Hamburg.

Tape, a 19-year-old France Under-19 international, arrives at Orriols to add physicality in front of the back line.

Tape came through the youth ranks at FC 93 Bobigny before joining Paris Saint-Germain, where he completed his development and made his senior debut in the Coupe de France in January 2025.

He moved to Leverkusen that summer, and went on to make his Champions League bow with the German club as well as featuring six times in the Bundesliga, though regular first-team football proved difficult to find given the strength of Leverkusen's midfield options.

The switch to Spain offers Tape a clearer route to consistent playing time as Levante look to build on a promising start to the LaLiga season under LuĂ­s Castro, who has already guided the newly promoted side to six straight home wins at the Ciutat de Valencia.

Levante's need in the position was heightened by the exit of Kevin Arriaga, and Tape's arrival gives Luis Castro a younger, physically imposing alternative in central midfield.

The move is part of a broader summer clear-out on Leverkusen's right side, with Doué expected to complete a permanent switch from Strasbourg imminently, Arthur's loan to Hamburg all but finalised, and the club also fielding late interest from four sides in a further defender, Jeanuël Belocian.

For a club that has invested heavily in overhauling its full-back positions this summer, sending Tape out to gain senior experience elsewhere reflects a broader strategy of loaning promising younger players rather than allowing them to stagnate as fringe squad members in the Bundesliga.