Marseille teenager Darryl Bakola is being linked with a move to Bayer Leverkusen, with the Bundesliga club reportedly monitoring the attacking midfielder’s rapid rise in Ligue 1.
The 18-year-old, valued at €4.00m on Transfermarkt, is rumoured to be a target for the German champions as they continue to scour European markets for young creative players. The current probability of a transfer is listed only as “?”, underlining that talks, if any, remain at a speculative stage rather than an advanced negotiation.
Bakola is under contract at Marseille, but with no publicly listed expiry date, the length of his current deal is unclear, raising the theoretical possibility that he could move on a free in future if no extension is agreed. For now, any switch from the Vélodrome to Leverkusen remains conjecture rather than a concrete proposal.
Born in Clichy on 30 November 2007, Bakola represents both France and Congo at nationality level and operates primarily as an attacking midfielder, favouring his right foot. He wears the number 50 shirt for Marseille’s first team after progressing through the club’s youth structure, stepping up from the U19s in September 2024.
Before arriving at Marseille’s academy, Bakola spent time with Racing Club de France’s youth set-up and then Red Star’s junior side, giving him a grounding in the French system before moving through Marseille’s U17 and U19 teams. His market value has surged over the past year, rising from €200,000 in early 2025 to €1m in October, and then quadrupling to €4m by mid-December, reflecting his growing reputation rather than any confirmed transfer fee.
Should Leverkusen firm up their interest, a move to the Bundesliga could offer Bakola a major platform to accelerate his development and test whether his rapid progress in France can translate to one of Europe’s most intense tactical environments.
