Joshua Eze signed his first professional contract with Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday.

Eze who captained the Club’s U19 squad in the A-Junior Bundesliga West, signed a two year with his boyhood club.

The player is promoted to the first team, but should ideally leave the Bundesliga squad again quickly on loan elsewhere to gain experience.

“Joshua was a central leader in our U19s. We will continue to support his career path over the next two years,”

“We’ll probably lend him out, If not, Eze would probably only be used in Youth League games as Bayer 04 doesn’t have a second team.” Said sporting director Simon Rolfes on Tuesday.

The defender who can play in the midfield has been at Bayer 04 since 2010 and has played for Germany 19 team.

He’s still eligible to represent Nigeria at the full international level, despite featuring for Germany’s U19.

He has a Nigerian father and a German mother.