Ahead of the start of the new German Bundesliga season on Friday, Ian Hawkey looks at five players to watch for in the coming campaign.
Renato Sanches, Bayern Munich
The more Renato Sanches showed of himself after Bayern sealed the €35 million (Dh145.8m) deal to bring him to Bavaria from Benfica in May, the better a capture he looked. He has just turned 19, and just won Euro 2016 with Portugal. The main question: Where he fits into a strong midfield?
Mario Gotze, Borussia Dortmund
Gotze the prodigy is no longer. Gotze the golden boy of German football, scorer of the goal that won the Fifa World Cup in 2014 has become a distant memory. Gotze the betrayer of Borussia Dortmund, whose fans he angered by leaving to join Bayern Munich must be forgotten, too, now he has moved back, to rejuvenate his career.
Mario Gomez, Wolfsburg
The warrior returns. After his spells at Fiorentina and Besiktas, the former Stuttgart and Bayern Munich centre-forward is back in the Bundesliga, signed by Wolfsburg, and keen to show that, into his 30s, his game has developed subtleties to go with his undoubted ability to forcefully lead the front line.
Alen Halilovic, Hamburg
There is no shame in being surplus to requirements at Barcelona, even less when the Primera Liga champions take the precaution of inserting a €10m buy-back clause in the contract that moves a player on. Halilovic, 20, is still a hot prospect. Hamburg will be a big test of whether he can live up to the hype that followed him through his teenage years.
Nils Petersen, Freiburg
Petersen, once a starry-eyed hopeful at Bayern, returned to wider attention with a bang, scoring five goals in a match at the Rio Olympics and then fluffing the penalty that turned a potential gold medal into silver. He finished as he Games’ joint-highest scorer, and comes home hopeful his goals can help newly promoted Freiburg.
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