The summer transfer window is always a hectic period with all Bundesliga clubs looking to strengthen their squads ahead of the new season. Some clubs do their business early on, whereas others wait until the end of the window to snap up some late bargains. Here we analyse the best potential signings made by each of the 18 Bundesliga clubs so far……
Bayern Munich
The Rekordmeister made signing a world-class number nine their absolute priority this summer and they have been made to pay top dollar to get their man. Harry Kane’s transfer to the Allianz Arena was long and drawn out thanks to Tottenham chairman Daniel levy playing hardball, but Thomas Tuchel has the man to lead the Bayern line and he has immediately been installed as the favourite to lead the Bundesliga scoring charts. Its been reported that Bayern sold 10,000 Harry Kane shirts on the day of his signing- that will put a small dent in the €100 million fee they paid to sign the England captain.
Borussia Dortmund
The 19 million capture of attacking midfielder Marcel Sabitzer went under the radar a little following the furore over Felix Nmecha’s signing, but the Austrian international looks set to be a very astute acquisition for the Schwarzgelben. He impressed at the start of last season at Bayern where he kept leon Goretzka out of the starting line-up, and had an equally impressive loan spell at Manchester United. He just needs to find a new ‘home’ and he could have done just that at the Signal Iduna Park.
RB Leipzig
The Roten Bullen paid a club record €43 million to sign Belgian striker Loïs Openda from Lens as they looked to replace their top scorer from the past two seasons Christopher Nkunku. 23-year-old Openda scored 21 goals in Ligue 1 last season to follow on from the 19 he scored in the previous season whilst on loan at Dutch Eredivisie side Vitesse. He has already been amongst the goals in pre-season and the club will expect to see him hit the ground running in the Bundesliga.
Union Berlin
The Eisernen are going to need a deep squad if they are not to rest on their laurels and compete again this season with the added extra of Champions League football to test them. The signing of German international Robin Gosens from Inter is one of their stand-out signings amongst a busy summer transfer window. The left back moves to the Bundesliga for the first time having spent his entire playing career in the Netherlands and Italy.
The 29-year-old will be aiming to make it into Hansi Flick’s squad for next summer’s European Championships and a good season with Union will no doubt help him challenge Leipzig’s David Raum for a spot in the Nationalmannschaft. With Union about to embark on their very first Champions League campaign, having someone with Gosens experience will be a real bonus.
Freiburg
The Breisgauer have been relatively quiet in the transfer window thus far, but in Junior Adamu they have signed what they see as a good replacement for the retired Nils Petersen. The Nigerian-born Austrian international hit ten goals for Red Bull Salzburg last season. He’s tall, quick and can operate out wide as well as in the centre, but like Petersen, he has a knack of scoring from the bench. Four of his ten league goals and two of his three cup goals in 2022/23 came as a substitute. At 6 million he is well within Freiburg’s budget and Christian Streich will not doubt improve him as a player.
Bayer Leverkusen
The signing of Jonas Hofmann from Borussia Mönchengladbach came as a bit of a surprise, but the Werkself have signed a quality player to play on their right-hand side following the departure of Moussa Diaby. While he doesn’t have the explosive speed of the Frenchman, he does have the attacking thrust and goal instinct to become a key factor this season. Selling Diaby for €55 million and spending a mere €10 million on Hofmann looks a very good piece of business.
Eintracht Frankfurt
Picking up midfielder Ellyes Skhiri from Köln on a free this summer was always going to be a real coup and it is Eintracht Frankfurt, who have snared the Tunisian running machine. The 28-year-old was being chased by a host of clubs, but the Adler won the race and he will greatly improve their midfield game. After leading the Bundesliga stats for the past two seasons for distance covered, he will compensate for the departure of Djibril Sow and add hopefully add to his best-ever goalscoring season achieved last year.
VfL Wolfsburg
Despite keen interest from Marseille, it was Wolfsburg who won the signature of Danish fullback Joakim Maehle from Italian side Atalanta. The attacking fullback can play on either flank, and his counter-attacking threat will be a great addition to Niko Kovac’s squad. The 26-year-old has 37 caps for his country and was in their World Cup squad for the finals in Qatar last year and at €12 million looks a real bargain for the Wölfe as their new look defence takes shape.
Mainz
Midfielder Tom Krauß was one of the stand-our performers for Schalke in their relegation campaign last year and the Königsblauen’s demotion had little to do with the effort and performances the RB Leipzig loanee brough to the table. He was a near ever-present (missed just two matches) and instantly endeared himself to the home support with a fighting attitude. He was nominated for the Bundesliga Rookie of the Year award and the 22-year-old led the entire league last season for tackles made (112) and tackles won (68).
