Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed Under-17 international defender Nico Perrey from DSC Arminia Bielefeld following his club's relegation to Germany's third tier.

A regular in the Germany side that reached the UEFA European U17 Championship final and took FIFA U-17 World Cup bronze, Perrey is regarded as a major prospect. Leverkusen youth director Jürgen Gelsdorf said: "Nico is looking to take the next step with us. He's developed into a good player at Bielefeld, but after Arminia got relegated from the top youth league he was not going to be playing at the highest level."

Perrey will line up alongside U17 team-mates Okan Aydin and Samed Yesil at Leverkusen, who finished second in the Bundesliga to book a place in the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League group stage. Their newest signing will return to training on 1 August, having been given an extended break to recover from his exertions at the World Cup in Mexico, along with Aydin and Yesil.