Germany is well known for being able to produce world class talent for the European elite to fight over from a young age. German players are arriving on our shores in large numbers and are seemingly here to stay, with Mesut Ozil being the latest high profile German to make the switch to England. He followed in the footsteps of Andre Schurrle, Lukas Podolski, Per Mertesacker, Thomas Eisfeld, Serge Gnabry, Marko Marin, Sascha Riether, Lewis Holtby, Robert Huth and many more that have graced our pitches in the past. Germany are famous for producing dedicated, passionate, energetic, efficient and extremely talented players that some clubs have spotted and are now forming a core of players in this country. Arsenal and Chelsea in particular are creating squads full of Germans in a bid to try and dominate the English game. Here are a selection of youngsters that could light up the Premier League in years to come:
1. Julian Draxler – One of the biggest and best names to recently come off the production line in Germany and in Europe. An absolutely incredible player with the ability to work wonders in the Premier League. He was linked with a whole host of Premier League clubs over the summer including Arsenal and both the Manchester clubs, but the Gunners moved for Ozil instead and the Manchester clubs’ interest was not strong enough for a bid to ever materialise. This season he has featured in 17 games, scoring four and assisting three. These are not bad stats but not particularly spectacular either, although you have to look beyond the stats with so many players. His overall ability far exceeds what the stats suggest.
2. Max Meyer – The young Schalke star has only recently turned 18 but yet he is featuring prominently for the first team which is extremely encouraging to see. I have held an interest in this player for quite some time (I even produced an article on him earlier in the year) because he is just such an exciting and talented player that will get more recognition in the coming months and years. He has played 15 games for Schalke this season, scoring six goals and assistng two others. The 18-year-old is certainly making an impact and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him make an impact in England in the future
3. Leon Goretzka – You may have noticed that the first three players all play for Schalke, which says an awful lot about, not only the quality of the German club’s youngsters, but also the future of the club as a whole. Goretzka is a player that operates in central midfield and because of his attributes and abilities in this position, he has been compared to fellow countryman, Bastian Schweinsteiger. This says all you need to know about how good this player is. I realise that many youngsters are compared with older players because fans tend to favour a way of describing the player in simpler terms. If a player is compared to Lionel Messi, then they are likely to be very good at dribbling, finishing and passing. So, although this comparison has been made, there’s a chance he won’t live up to the hype. However, I firmly believe he will be an exception.
4. Matthias Ginter – Finally stepping away from Schalke, Ginter plies his trade for SC Freiburg and is a player who, at the age of 19, is already the main man at the heart of the defence of a senior club in a top division. He has made 19 appearances in total this season and made 26 last season, although he was injured for a considerable amount of time. He is a very good centre back that can play elsewhere but he is too good to be constantly shifted from position to position. Arsenal were strongly linked with the young German over the summer, with some reports suggesting a deal had been struck, but nothing ever came of it and so he remains at Freiburg.
I could go on and on with so many young Germans making a case to be on this list, but these are just four players who I feel can make it big in the Bundesliga and the Premier League should they ever leave.