da luck： Now that Christmas is over and another year of top-flight football is about to finish, sports fans across Europe have at least one thing they can count on to excite them in the new year- The January transfer window.
da apostebet： For fans of the Bundesliga in particular, this calendar year has certainly been a one to savour. The German national side have successfully proven their dominance on the international scene, domestic attendances are at an all-time high, and despite Bayern Munich’s clear superiority at the top of the table, the rest of German football remains as unpredictable and as exciting as ever.
Whilst all of this certainly bodes well for the talent on offer in the Bundesliga, fans of clubs across the rest of Europe can definitely expect their sides to be keeping the German league on their radar for any smart, or equally stupid, transfer deals that may break the surface this January.
So here’s five Bundesliga stars who could be heading to the Premier League in January…
Christoph Kramer
Despite desperately limping off injured in the World Cup final, this promising 23-year-old box-to-box midfielder has everything in his locker to become the next star of the Bundesliga. Christpoh Kramer has already impressed German fans for his ability with the ball, and the fact that he is already a World Cup winner says just how far he is yet to go in world football.
Kramer may officially be a Bayer Leverkusen player, but his extended loan to Borussia Monchengladbach has made him a strong fan favourite among the Borussia-Park faithful. So far in 2014/15, the young German has scored perhaps the best own goal of the year, but his other striking attempts and overall play has more than made up for that one error. Kramer is effortlessly comfortable on the ball and can seemingly pick out a sweet pass at the drop of a hat, for that reason, nearly every top team in Europe has been seemingly linked with the German no. 23 in recent weeks.
The Borussia centre-midfielder isn’t the strongest on a physical level however, so perhaps more work may be needed on Kramer’s part if he were to make it in the Premier League. Nevertheless, Arsene Wenger is apparently ready to make a £20million bid for the player, but will have to shake off any interest from Real Madrid in the process if he wants the deal to go through.
Heung Min Son
At only 22-years-old, Heung Min Son’s brief career in the Bundesliga has already been filled with several great performances and some even better goals. The young striker may have only joined Bayer Leverkusen last season, but the South Korean striker has been a revelation in German football ever since he first broke onto the scene with Hamburger SV.
Son had a decent World Cup with South Korea in the summer, seeing as Asian teams very rarely progress from the group stages, and became a national hero with his well taken goal against Algeria. His characteristics undoubtedly hold him in good stead to be a deadly finisher at times, but for the large part Heung Min Son is calm on the ball and composed with his passing. The main-man from South Korea has also become renowned for his long range efforts and ability to bag a goal from pretty much out of nowhere.
Such a player would certainly suit Liverpool at this current stage in the season, especially as Brendan Rodgers was thought to have wanted Son as well as Emre Can, who eventually signed from Leverkusen in the summer. The young talent is also said to have turned down Manchester United in the past, and as neither of these two Premier League giants have Champions League football guaranteed for next season, perhaps the switch to the English football won’t happen just yet for Heung Min Son.
Shinji Okazaki
Another Bundesliga sensation from the far-East comes in the form of Shinji Okazaki. The in-form striker currently holds the record for most goals scored by a Japanese player in the German league, as well as recently becoming the third all-time top goal-scorer in Japanese international history.
Okazaki has won fans over in the Bundesliga for his composure in front of goal, reliable finishing rate and dramatic ability to save his team with last minute winners. The determined striker was in the form of his life last season, scoring an impressive 15 goals, and he has made a good start to 2014/15 as well with eight goals already nicely taken so far.
Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham have all been linked with the Japanese hit-man, but a move to West Ham has been most recently touted as of late. As Shinji Okazaki lacks the sensation and high profile nature of a Diego Costa or Alexis Sanchez type character, perhaps a switch to the East End would seem right for this Bundesliga man, but Okazaki will really have to make an impression in England if he is to make it in Big Sam’s improved Hammers side.
Alexander Meier
The latest Bundesliga hot-shot to shoot up the goal scoring charts is none other than Eintracht Frankfurt’s very own goal-machine – Alexander Meier. The German forward currently has the most domestic goals in his league, with an impressive 13 already put away in 2013/14, successfully keeping his side in the top half of the table.
Meier is a pony-tailed beast of a player that could certainly prove a hit in the Premier League. He has the perfect mix of pace and strength, and whilst he seemingly suits the role of a burley centre-forward, this latest German sensation is actually an attacking midfielder.
At 31-years-old however, Alexander Meier has hardly set the world alight before, but this could nevertheless be a late blooming on the German striker’s part. Even if he hasn’t been this prolific in the Bundesliga before, Meier has finished the last three seasons as Eintracht’s top scorer and has become a firm fan favourite at the Commerzbank-Arena whilst doing so.
For that reason, Meier will certainly be a tough asset to prize away from his current club. His success this season may have the ‘one-hit-wonder syndrome’ look about it, but with many teams looking to stave of relegation to the Championship this year, expect several Premier League suitors to express an interest regardless.
Ricardo Rodriguez
Ricardo Rodriguez represents one of the most coveted young players in German football. The 22-year-old Swiss defender predominantly plays at left-back, but he can also be deployed in the centre of the back-line as well as in defensive midfield, giving him all the hall-marks of the perfect modern full-back.
Rodriguez’ quality was on show at the 2014 World Cup with Switzerland, where a series of impressive performances saw the young defender become a vital asset in his side’s attacks, as well as proving to be solid at the back. This latest Swiss sensation has even more to his game however. Due to his Spanish/Chilean parentage, Ricardo Rodriguez has the ability to mix natural Latin flair with the systematic efficiency needed to thrive in the Bundesliga. His crossing skills and ability to score free-kicks are therefore high up in Rodriguez’s skill-set.
Whilst high-flying Wolfsburg have already stated that their no. 34 won’t be going anywhere this January, interest from the Premier League remains rife. Manchester United will likely keep up their pursuit of the full-back, as they had done over the summer, but now the prospect of joining Chelsea may be too much to turn down for all parties involved. Mourinho is reportedly interest in Rodriguez to give his defence more dynamism coming forward.