Top 11 Bundesliga players YOUR Premier League club should be looking to buy this summer
Top 11 Bundesliga players YOUR Premier League club should be looking to buy this summer
Our German football expert Ross Dunbar looks at the top 11 German players who could be on their way to the Premier League
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The Bundesliga is the new rock 'n' roll after two clubs from the
German league - Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund - reached the
Champions League final last season.
We've all heard of star names
Mario Gotze, Thomas Muller and Mario Gomez, but there are plenty of
lesser known players who could do an excellent job in the Premier League
for YOUR club.
We asked German football expert Ross Dunbar to
raid his big Bundesliga brain and come up with 11 players who Prem
scouts should be looking at this summer.
We've got wingers,
strikers, midfielders and defenders aplenty from the bargain bucket so
which ever position your club needs, Ross has a solution for you.
Check out his tips and let us know who you'd like your club to snap up.
Jonathan Schmid, right-winger, SC Freiburg
The Frenchman was one of this season's outstanding performers,
helping Freiburg to fifth spot and a place in next season's Europa
League. At 22, Schmid has improved significantly under the guidance of
Christian Streich over the last 18 months, assisting six goals and
scoring 11 this season.
Not an out-and-out winger, as such, Schmid
is a dangerous wide-forward with good pace and adopts a more direct
approach. Although left-footed by nature the freedom allowed by Streich
in his attacking play has increased his return on the goalscoring front.
He is one of the Freiburg attacking quartet establishing one of the
most intense pressing styles in the Bundesliga.
Even defensively,
Schmid can use his dynamism to shore things up, tucking inside, and
allowing a positive right-back to bomb forward. At times this season,
Streich has used the Frenchman as an emergency full-back, such are the
important qualities of Schmid in this Freiburg setup.
Whether you
could take the 22-year-old out of that ethos and make it work at another
club would make this season a relative risk. Fee: £3m-£4m
Stefan Aigner, right midfielder, Eintracht Frankfurt
Stefan Aigner on the ball for Eintracht Frankfurt
Karina Hessland
Aigner was one of Armin Veh’s summer signings in 2012 from the
2.Bundesliga, as Eintracht Frankfurt cherry-picked the best talents in
the second-tier. From 1860 Munich, the 25-year-old has looked a class
act consistently for Veh’s side who qualified for Europe next season.
He
played all 34 games for Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga with nine
goals and eight assists to his name. In 2011/12, he struck 11 times
from right-midfield for 1860 in the 2.Bundesliga.
Technically
assured, Aigner is an orthodox right-sided midfielder. The balance
needed with Sebastian Jung’s attacking responsibilities means he can
almost become a right-central midfielder in the 4-2-3-1 formation.
A
strong passer, with good vision in possession, In a league that still
accommodates 4-4-2, Aigner would provide a really wise investment for a
right-sided midfielder. Fee: £4m
Philipp Wollscheid, centre-back, Bayer Leverkusen
Phillip Wollscheid in action against Metalist Kharkiv in the UEFA Europa League
Lars Baron
Wollscheid has been touted even for a place in the German
national team after excellent, committed performances in the Bundesliga.
Leverkusen picked up a historic win at the Allianz Arena and Wollscheid
was a colossal performer, both aerially and his timing in the
challenge.
Physically imposing, from the old-fashioned mould, Wollscheid is taking off under the stewardship of new head coach Sami Hyppia.
Wollscheid
has a long-term deal at the BayArena until 2017 and will be part of the
backbone that Hyppia will hope to take into the Champions League next
season. Fee: £7m-£10m
Artjoms Rudnevs, striker, Hamburg SV
He arrived at a difficult time for Hamburg in the league – and was even jeered by his own fans after a frustrating debut.
But
the Latvian hitman is adapting well to life in Germany. Rudnevs
exploded into the spotlight with Lech Poznan, hitting 22 goals in 29
league games and attracting interest from across Europe. Eventually,
Hamburg thrashed out a £6m deal to sign the 25-year-old last summer.
Hamburg
struggled in the early months of the season, but when things picked up
following the signing of Rafael Van der Vaart, Rudnevs was one who
thrived. He reached double figures (12 goals) for 2012/13, including two
goals in their 4-1 win over Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park.
Strong,
powerful and with a fine eye for goal, he thrives in one-to-one
partnerships, such as, with Son Heung-Min for long spells of last
season. Fee: £5m-£6m
Just over two years ago, Schwegler was part of the Eintracht
Frankfurt side that suffered relegation at Dortmund on the final day of
the season. As painful as it was, the midfielder was already was a key
part of a new-look team in the 2.Bundesliga and on their return to the
top-flight last season. He is the club’s current captain.
The
26-year-old is an all-action, tough midfielder and a real leader in
Eintracht Frankfurt’s team. His positional intelligence has been
important in forming a decent partnership with Sebastian Rode. Schwegler
would adapt comfortably to the British style of football and is strong
in 4-4-2 and a variety of formations.
However Schwegler has announced that he has extended his contract so it will be difficult to prize him away from Frankfurt Fee: £4m-£5m
William Kvist, defensive midfielder, VfB Stuttgart
William Kvist battling for possession with ex-Stuttgart man Kevin Kuranyi
Dennis Grombkowski
Kvist has fallen out-of-favour recently at VfB Stuttgart and
could be available for transfer this summer, either permanently, or on
loan.
The defensive-minded midfielder tackles well and can break
up the play. He still made 23 appearances last season, though, and is
well rated in the Bundesliga, with Hamburg one of the clubs interested.
Former
captain of Copenhagen in the Champions League and a part of Euro 2012
for Denmark, the 28-year-old has experience and would be a decent
signing. Fee: £5m (Potential for loan)
Timm Klose, centre back, 1.FC Nuremberg
Timm Klose holding off a Duesseldorf defender
Dean Mouhtaropoulos
Like Wollscheid, Klose has made his mark in Franconia with
Nuremburg. His style to the Leverkusen man is very similar: physically
dominant, aerially strong and with a quick turn on the deck.
Klose
is being eyed up by VfL Wolfsburg and former trainer Dieter Hecking,
with money certainly not an issue for the Volkswagen-funded club. The
22-year-old is also a Switzerland international. Fee: £4m+
Nikola Djurdjic, striker, Greuther FΓΌrth
Nikola Djurdjic with his eyes on the prize, which could well be a move to the Premier League
Let’s make an exception for Greuther Furth who will be in the 2.Bundesliga for 2013/14.
Incredibly,
their Serbian frontman Djurdjic is still on the books in Bavaria after
moving from Norway in January. A late developer at 26 years old, the
striker made his mark on loan with Helsingborgs in Sweden, showing
impressive performances against Celtic in the Champions League
qualifiers and Hannover 96 in the Europa League.
A good leader of
the frontline, quick, energetic and dangerous on the last shoulder,
Djurdjic is definitely worth another season in the Bundesliga, at least,
or in the Premier League. Fee: £1m-£2m
Mame Biram Diouf, striker, Hannover 96
The 25-year-old Diouf will be a familiar name to followers of
Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers. The striker joined the Red
Devils from Molde in 2009 but struggled to make the breakthrough at Old
Trafford. He had a short loan-spell at Ewood Park before Hannover 96
spent around £1.5m to secure his services.
Since then, he has
scored 27 goals in 51 games with a further 11 assists, but particularly
impressive in the Bundesliga with 18 goals in 38 games. Amidst talk of
Robert Lewandowski’s departure from Borussia Dortmund, Diouf was linked
as a replacement for the striker.
For Hannover and their
counter-attacking system, Diouf is a perfect match. His strength is
ideal for leading the line, but his finishing and composure in-front of
goal is very important. Fee: Up to £10m
Julian Baumgartlinger (L) challenging for the ball with Timo Gebhart
Alex Grimm
A bit of an outcast at one of the league’s “smaller” clubs,
Baumgartlinger has impressed in his recent spell in the Bundesliga
having arrived from Austria Vienna.
With a combative style, the
25-year-old is more suited to a holding-midfield role, but is just as
important in starting attacks for Mainz. He’ll rarely venture across the
halfway line and impacts the game more without possession, and in
starting attacks from the back. He’s the sort of midfielder that will
quietly go about his business.
Considering Mainz’s performances in the Bundesliga, he may have more to offer in the coming years. Fee: £2.5m-£3m
Kevin Trapp, goalkeeper, Eintracht Frankfurt
The Bundesliga is awash with terrific young goalkeepers at the
moment, like Bernd Leno, Fabian Giefer, among others. But not many have
eclipsed the performances of Frankfurt keeper Kevin Trapp.
The
22-year-old kept six clean sheets last season and was one of the
strongest goalkeepers in the league, including the top sides. Fee: £4.5m
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