Moving to the Premier League from the Bundesliga has become quite the norm these days. The German league, known for its quality of nurturing talents, has produced a series of quality individuals in the past decade or so.
And with time, more and more quality players are coming out of the ranks from teams like Dortmund, Schalke, Leverkusen etc. While on the other hand, the Premier League’s huge TV revenues have put the English league ahead of its counterparts by some substantial margin.
Therefore, the English clubs have been able to hi-jack these talents and lure them into the Premier League. So in this article, we will talk about the top three Bundesliga players who were successful after moving to the Premier League in recent memory.
3. Joel Matip – Liverpool FC
Joel Matip was Schalke’s captain and one of their strongest defensive assets for years before he made the move to the Premier League with Liverpool FC. Due to Jurgen Klopp’s severe interest in the Schalke defender, Matip was lured in from the Royal Blues, on a free transfer in 2016.
A season later, Matip has been one of Liverpool’s defensive mainstays. The former Schalker featured in all but five games for the Reds last campaign, proving to be a vital defender for Jurgen Klopp’s men. Liverpool’s lack of quality defenders was quickly solved by the 31-year-old, as his partnership with Dejan Lovren is partly a reason why they conceded only 42 goals last term.
Squawka rates Joel Matip as Liverpool’s best defender and second best player for last season with a performance score of 860. His committed defending, resulted in some astonishing numbers come the end of the season. Matip averages an amazing five clearances per game, whilst also making over 1.5 interceptions per game. His heading duels won ratio stand at an incredible 61% and a ratio of 58% tackles won is also the best in the team.
Joel Matip has successfully managed to bring his Bundesliga form into the Premier League and as the new season comes ever so close, he will, no doubt, be an indispensable figure at the backline for the Merseyside outfit
2. Kevin De Bruyne – Manchester City
One of the most expensive player to make the move from Bundesliga, Kevin Bruyne was snapped up by Manchester City in the summer of 2015 with a stunning fee of 74 million euros.
De Bruyne’s 2014-15 season performance with Wolfsburg totally lit the Bundesliga that corresponding season.
De Bruyne has been a vital cog in Manchester City’s offensive system ever since he made the move to Etihad. The Belgian International perhaps wasn’t as influential in his first season at the club, but under Pep Guardiola, the 26-year-old has thrived playing as a central attacking midfielder.
De Bruyne was the club’s best player according to Squwaka with a performance score of 952. He created a staggering number of chances for the Sky Blues last season with a tally of 101, fourth best in the league. He also notched up more assists than any other player in the league last season(18).
The Belgian’s performance in the Premier League has significantly improved under the guidance of Pep Guardiola, who knows the player all too well, having closely watched him during his time at Bayern. His fiery form last season is enough to suggest, that he has got what it takes to thrive in the English League.
1. Mesut Ozil – Arsenal
Mesut Ozil has perhaps been the most successful player of all in the last five years. Although he didn’t actually move from the Bundesliga, he still earned his reputation at Schalke before signing for Real Madrid. He then chose to move to the Emirates, after three successful years at the Bernabeu for a fee of 47 million euros. At that time, he was already Germany’s most expensive player.
After arriving in England, Mesut Ozil has been arguably the league’s most potent playmaker. Since 2013, Ozil has managed 45 assists in the PL and 57 for Arsenal in all competition.
The former Real Madrid midfielder notched up a performance score of 1088 by Squawka last season, most by any player in our list. Even though, he still trailed Alexis Sanchez by a significant margin(Sanchez had 1506!). Ozil contributed to 89 key passes for the Gunners last term, second most in the league. His passing accuracy also stands at a remarkable 87%.
The 2015-16 has by far been the most influential season for the 28-year-old, where he created an insane 144 chances. Averaging almost five per game! In his first two seasons at Arsenal, he wasn’t as impressive and frequent injury troubles limited his appearances but he is back now with full fitness and is definitely one of Arsenal’s strongest offensive asset.
[All stats are taken from Squawka]
