A raft of young players are reaping the rewards of regular football in the Bundesliga by making a name for themselves as Europe’s hottest prospects. Here we look at five players aged 23 or under who are taking the German top flight by storm this season.
Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich)
Gnabry left Arsenal in 2016 in search of first team football and hasn’t looked back since. An impressive campaign at the Olympics that summer preceded a switch to Werder Bremen, where his performances convinced Bayern to sign him after just one season. A loan spell at Hoffenheim saw him deliver ten goals and seven assists in 27 games and he returned to Bayern this summer as a sure successor to their ageing wingers. He has started six Bundesliga matches so far this season, as well as the last three games for his country.
Luka Jovic (Eintracht Frankfurt)
With almost a third of the season gone, Jovic leads the scoring charts in the Bundesliga with nine goals to date, averaging one just every 62 minutes. The 20-year-old Serbian made headlines when he scored five goals against Dusseldorf last month and has already surpassed his overall tally from last season. He’s unlikely to stay in Germany beyond this season, though, with his loan spell from Benfica set to end in July and Liverpool and Barcelona reportedly interested in his signature. Will he remain as the league’s top scorer? You can bet on him to win the Golden Boot at odds of 9.75 by clicking here.
Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund)
Sancho’s move to Dortmund garnered plenty of attention last summer, especially when the former Manchester City starlet was entrusted with the number 7 shirt previously inhabited by Ousmane Dembele. Despite the early sign of faith in him, Sancho had to wait until January to make his first start but ended the 2017/18 campaign with four assists in 12 games. The current season has seen him register five goals and eight assists overall, while he became the seventh Englishman to make his Champions League debut for a foreign club. He’s also become part of the national team set-up and is already earmarked to be a future star.
Reiss Nelson (Hoffenheim)
The Arsenal loanee followed his long-time friend Sancho by becoming the eighth Englishman to play his first Champions League game for an overseas side, just one day after Sancho made his bow. Nelson was a regular for Arsenal in the cup competitions early last season but has found more playing time at Hoffenheim, where he has chipped in with six goals in seven league games. While eligible to represent Zimbabwe, he has also made his debut for the England U21s this year, but the bad news for Hoffenheim fans is that he would like his future to lie with the Gunners. Can he score again this weekend against Hertha Berlin? The odds are 2.60 for him to net at any time.
Ondrej Duda (Hertha Berlin)
Now in his third season with Hertha, midfielder Duda has added goals to his game and has already struck six times in the Bundesliga this campaign, including one in a famous victory over Bayern Munich. Injuries have limited his playing time in Berlin but the Slovakian, who turns 24 in December, has already featured in all of Hertha’s 11 league games this season. If the man whom manager Pal Dardai refers to as “the little artist” can steer clear of further setbacks, this could be his breakout season.