Bayer Leverkusen are in the form of their season, yet the club's biggest challenges right now are unfolding off the pitch. Five consecutive wins across all competitions, including a 2-1 Bundesliga victory over then-league leaders Freiburg and a 2-0 Europa League win at OFI Crete, have Carles Martinez's side sitting fourth in the Bundesliga with 13 points and second in their Europa League group. The momentum is real, and Jonas Hofmann's quick-fire double in Crete underlined the depth available to the coaching staff.

That depth, though, is precisely what is driving a dressing room problem. Victor Boniface has told his representatives he wants to leave in January, frustrated at collecting just five minutes of playing time all season. His exclusion from the Europa League squad in favour of Hofmann was the final straw, and the situation drew a public rebuke from Martinez after Boniface left the bench area early during the win at Mainz. Sporting director Simon Rolfes has defended Boniface's general attitude while acknowledging his desire for game time.

Adding another layer of uncertainty, reports from Algeria link Paris Saint-Germain with a move for Ibrahim Maza, the 20-year-old who has six goal involvements in eight appearances this season and is central to everything Martinez builds going forward. Leverkusen are working on a contract extension, but interest from Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Arsenal and Tottenham signals the scale of the challenge in keeping him. Hoffenheim away on 25 October is next.