Football
Stephan Uersfeld, Germany correspondent 9y

Javier Hernandez signing at Bayer Leverkusen hailed by teammates

Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez's arrival at Bayer Leverkusen has been warmly received by a number of the club's current squad, including captain Lars Bender.

Hernandez, 27, signed for Leverkusen from Manchester United last month on a three-year contract for a reported fee of £8.75 million.

The striker, who is currently on international duty with Mexico ahead of their friendly against Argentina, could make his Bundesliga debut against Darmstadt on Saturday.

"He's just a great footballer," Leverkusen's veteran attacker Stefan Kiessling said in Bild. "He's speedy and can help us to confuse the opponents."

Bender added that the Hernandez transfer is also an indicator for the club's new-found attractiveness for star names.

"It's just a great story," Bender said of the Hernandez signing. "We got more quality with him. That such a player joins us, shows that we have provide more sporting attraction."

Goalkeeper Bernd Leno added: "He brings a lot of experience to our young squad."

Hernandez's arrival led to the collapse of the homepage on the club's website during the live feed of his unveiling last Tuesday.

Leverkusen's official announcement of Hernandez's transfer, meanwhile, was retweeted more than 15,000 times, a club record.

"Last week, we already sent some 100 parcels containing the CH7 jersey to Mexico and the United States," the club's media director Dirk Mesch told ESPN FC.

Over the past week, the page impressions and visits on Bayer's official homepage have quadrupled, with a significant rise from foreign countries, especially from Mexico and the United States, but also from England and Spain.

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