At Lucky Nugget Casino we look to keep you updated with more than just the newest slot games around, and we couldn’t help but notice the football season is back. With the transfer window finally shutting, every side in the Bundesliga will have to do with their current squad until January. But, some teams have done better business than others.
Previously, we told you five players to watch out for this season, but now we’re going to look at the six best Bundesliga summer signings of 2017.
Niklas Süle
Although Bayern Munich made the high-profile loan capture of Colombia playmaker James Rodriguez from Real Madrid, their best bit of business may be a long-term investment in defence.
After letting the injury-prone Holger Badstuber leave the Allianz Arena alongside Morocco international Mehdi Benatia, signing Süle from Hoffenheim has renewed their rearguard.
This transfer wasn’t the only raid Bayern boss Carlo Ancelotti made on that team either, as versatile Sebastian Rudy moved to Munich for free as well.
In Süle, Bayern boast a talented centre back who can learn plenty from seasoned trio Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels and Javi Martinez.
Now that Xabi Alonso has retired, the latter can even move into Munich’s midfield as anchorman as a result of this deal.
Süle has already seen plenty of first-team involvement at the Bundesliga champions and that is set to continue.
Playing for Bayern means he will be able to test himself against Europe’s elite in a Champions League group which also contains Scottish Premiership winners Celtic, Belgian champions Anderlecht and mega-rich French Ligue 1 outfit PSG.
Divock Origi
Liverpool were prepared to let Belgium forward Origi leave Anfield on loan and Wolfsburg snapped him up on transfer deadline day.
Former Arsenal academy boss Andries Jonker has seen Ricardo Rodriguez and fellow Swiss star Diego Benaglio sold following a disappointing season last term.
The former especially commanded a large fee when AC Milan came looking for a new left back and the money has been wisely reinvested to give Die Wolfe strength-in-depth to do better this term.
Origi is the most eye-catching signing, though, because of his exploits for club and country. He shot to fame when scoring the winner for Belgium off the bench in their 2014 World Cup finals group game with Russia inside the Maracanã when on Lille’s books.
Since arriving on Merseyside permanently, Origi has double figures for goals in both of his seasons, but then found first-team chances harder to come by when Jurgen Klopp recruited Dominic Solanke from Chelsea.
That is to Wolfsburg’s advantage, though, and if Origi can make a similar impact to the one compatriot Kevin De Bruyne had on their team, then Die Wolfe are in for a much better season.
Kevin Kampl
While RB Leipzig sold Oliver Burke to West Bromwich Albion and have agreed to let Liverpool have midfield dynamo Naby Keïta for a club-record fee next summer, they moved to bring Slovenia international Kevin Kampl in from Bayer Leverkusen.
A proven Bundesliga performer, who has played for a Red Bull franchise before in Austrian Bundesliga outfit RB Salzburg, German-born Kampl cost Leipzig a reported €20,000,000.
This deadline day swoop for the Champions League debutants gives them a versatile midfield player who is capable of dictating play and pulling the strings well.
Kampl arguably played his best football when last teaming up with Red Bull in Salzburg, so it is to be hoped he can be integrated into the engine room initially alongside Keïta and then as a replacement for him.
Spells with both Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund mean he knows what is required in the Bundesliga to deliver.
At 26, Kampl hasn’t even entered his prime yet, so could prove a real asset to Leipzig as they look to press Bayern hard in the title race once again.
Jadon Sancho
There has been a marked shift in Borussia Dortmund’s recruitment strategy in recent times, which has coincided with the appointed of former Ajax boss Peter Bosz.
All of a sudden, the Westfalenstadion outfit are recruiting highly-rated teenage talent from abroad, having previously snapped up promising domestic prospects inside Germany.
One key example of this is England Under-17 forward Sancho, who dazzled defences when named Golden Player in the European Championship finals of his age bracket this summer.
Dortmund showed no hesitation in capitalising on Manchester City’s rumoured reluctance to let Sancho move across town to Manchester United.
Having sold Ousmane Dembele to Barcelona for a reported €105,000,000 plus add-ons, BVB bringing Sancho in as an £8,000,000 replacement looks like great business.
If building on international youth football displays, then Dortmund have a hugely exciting teenage talent to go alongside other up-and-comers like Swedish striking starlet Alexander Isak, defender Dan-Axel Zagadou – snapped up from PSG’s academy – and USA international Christian Pulisic.
Young players like these know no fear and the Yellow Wall can certainly get behind that as their team rebuild.
Matthias Ginter
Why Dortmund were prepared to part with a World Cup winning defender in Ginter just to snare Syrian-born midfielder Mahmoud Dahoud remains a mystery.
Borussia Monchengladbach might just have got the better deal in signing the former for €17,000,000.
Although still only 23, Ginter has almost 150 Bundesliga appearances under his belt as well as 15 senior caps for Germany.
Ginter was also part of Die Mannschaft’s silver medal winning squad from the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
He could be partnered at Gladbach by West Ham United loanee Reece Oxford, as it was this area in particular that the club invested in over the summer.
Like Oxford, Ginter can also play in front of the defence as a midfield shield and as a right back, so his new club have another versatile option.
Sebastian Haller
Eintracht Frankfurt have made several interesting summer signings, including former Premier League midfielders Kevin-Prince Boateng, Gelson Fernandes and Jonathan de Guzman, but Niko Kovac has also added a really promising attacking option to his ranks.
Former Utrecht hotshot Haller had a prolific three-season spell in the Eredivisie, averaging a goal every other game.
Starting out at Auxerre, this former France Under-21 international could represent the Ivory Coast as he qualifies through his mother.
Standing 6ft 3in tall, he is the perfect long-term replacement at Frankfurt for long-serving skipper Alexander Meier up front.
Kovac’s new-look side also includes defender Carlos Salcedo and left back Jetro Willems, but it is Haller who may be hailed as their best signing if he can reproduce his Eredivisie form in the Bundesliga.
