Germany are the current World Cup champions and with good reason too. The side has some of the best players in the world and even the players who don’t make it to the starting XI of the team could easily play for other top nations across the world.
The likes of Thomas Muller, Manuel Neuer and Mats Hummels have spent their entire careers playing in Germany but there are a few who have tried their luck outside the Bundesliga. In recent times, Mesut Ozil, Michael Ballack and Sami Khedira played in other European leagues and with more world class players coming through the ranks, it isn’t a surprise some of the top clubs in the world want to sign the Bundesliga stars.
Granit Xhaka seems to be another player who has made the switch from the Bundesliga after pictures were revealed of him in an Arsenal jersey. Continuing that trend, here are five Bundesliga players who move to other European clubs.
1) Loris Karius – FSV Mainz 05
Speaking of Germans doing well in other leagues, a certain manager of Borussia Dortmund joined Liverpool and led the Merseyside club to two finals. Unfortunately for the Reds, they lost both. While Alberto Moreno was the villain in the Europa League final, Simon Mignolet was the culprit in the Carling Cup final.
Jurgen Klopp did hand Mignolet a contract extension but the club have to find a better goalkeeper than the Belgian, who has cost Liverpool a number of games this season. While many have linked big named stars such as Bernd Leno and Marc-Andre ter Stegen as replacements for Mignolet, one player who seems to be leading the race at the moment is Loris Karius.
The 22-year-old German goalkeeper kept nine clean sheets for Mainz in the 2015/16 season. He does seem to be better than Mignolet when it comes to dealing with crosses and also with his distribution, which have been a couple of problematic points for the Belgian keeper at Liverpool.
Young, athletic and on the right growth track, Karius could be the signing of the season for Liverpool, at least.
2) Leroy Sane – Schalke 04
Many expected the loss of Julian Draxler to rivals Wolfsburg would affect Schalke tremendously this season but no one accounted for the rise in form of another youngster, Leroy Sane, at the Bundesliga club.
Sane has scored 8 times in 23 Bundesliga appearances and has also chipped in with 6 assists, helping Schalke finish fifth in the league standings.
The 20-year-old is one of the hottest properties in the world of football and it seems everyone wants a piece of him. Sane has been linked with a move to both Manchester City and Manchester United but the attacker stated his desire to play for Barcelona in the near future.
Sane speaking to Bild stated: “Some time in the future I want to play abroad and at an even bigger club than Schalke. Most of all at Barca -- even as a little boy, that was my dream club."
The German has also been picked in the squad for the European championship and that could be yet another big stage for him to shine.
3) Ilkay Gundogan – Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund seem to be making a habit of losing their best players every year. Mario Gotze, Robert Lewandowski and Shinji Kagawa all left the club, although Kagawa did make a return after a not too spectacular stint at Manchester United.
Another star set to leave the club is Ilkay Gundogan. The 25-year-old won’t be part of Euro 2016 due to a knee injury but he has been one of Dortmund’s best players over the years. Gundogan’s range of passing is exceptional and with him playing the holding midfield role, he has a lot of influence on how a game pans out.
Pep Guardiola seems to have a liking for such players and the German midfielder has been linked with a move to join the new era at Manchester City. The injury could play a role in delaying the transfer till he gets back to training but if Pep does pull it off, this could be a major signing for the Citizens.
4) Henrikh Mkhitaryan – Borussia Dortmund
Henrikh Mkhitaryan had another wonderful season for Borussia Dortmund, despite the club not winning the Bundesliga title. The Armenian was an unknown quantity before he signed up for the German club. Mkhitaryan was once linked with a move to Liverpool as well but the decision to snub them seems to have worked out in the end.
The 27-year-old has gone from strength to strength at the North Rhine-Westphalia club and recorded his best return in terms of goals scored this season. Mkhitaryan notched up 11 Bundesliga goals and also provided 15 assists in just 28 games for the side.
It was inevitable that he would be linked with a big money move and it seems that Arsenal have stolen the march on their rivals as the Premier League side look to bolster the attack. A trio of Mkhitaryan, Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil would certainly make the London club one of the most dangerous in the world.
Chelsea are also rumoured to be in the race to sign the talented attacker and it would certainly be interesting to see how the tug of war between two of London’s biggest clubs works out in the end.
5) Robert Lewandowski – Bayern Munich
The Polish forward has become one of the most feared strikers in the world of football ever since his much-criticised move to Bayern Munich. The former Borussia Dortmund star had won a couple of Bundesliga titles with the club and has picked up a couple more with the Bayern side.
Lewandowski has been linked with a big money to Real Madrid as the Spanish giants seem set for yet another big spending spree in the summer. One casualty of this shakeup could be Cristiano Ronaldo and that transfer could free up the funds to sign the 27-year-old striker.
The Bayern Munich striker could be the answer for many top clubs looking to get an upgrade on their strikers. He is lethal in the box and has racked up 30 goals in just 32 Bundesliga games this season. Lewandowski has scored 47 goals in just 63 league games for Bayern in his two years at the club, and he could end up smashing a few records at Real Madrid as well.
