Alphonso Davies and Jadon Sancho, Bundesliga 2019/20 (Photo by CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP via Getty Images)
These young guns set the top tier alight with their prodigious talents
The 2019/20 season in the Bundesliga drew to a close last Saturday, and boy what an epic ride that was!
Bayern Munich may have continued their dominance with an eighth consecutive title, there was plenty more to it than what just meets the eye.
We can go about all of them one by one, but let’s start with the best young players, shall we?
There are way too many talented young stars in the German top-tier, but these 10 players were particularly eye-catching and made waves:
(Only players who were aged 23 and younger at the start of the 2019/20 season have been considered)
#10 Suat Serdar (Schalke 04)
The Royal Blues were one the worst teams in the second-half of the campaign, winning none of their last 16 games, and that’s partly down to Serdar’s absence with injuries. Now that’s a testament to his importance to the side. A central midfielder by trade, the German international is strong in the air and has a keen eye for pass. He also struck seven times in the league, which is the highest in Schalke’s squad, believe it or not. Unfortunately, his season was cut short after sustaining a knee injury against Augsburg on 24 May as it ruled him out for the rest of the run in.
#9 Dayot Upamecano (RB Leipzig)
How is a talented defender like Upamecano still uncapped with France continues to be perplexing, for he’s been around the block for quite sometime and has proved his worth since joining RB Leipzig in 2017. This season though, might have been his best yet. The 21-year old was an unrelenting force at the back, and also made 2,282 passes – the 10th most in the Bundesliga, whilst also maintaining an 89% success rate! Many top shouts of Premier League have expressed interest in his services, while his long awaited debut with Les Blues too might be due soon.
#8 Marcus Thuram (Borussia Monchengladbach)
The Foals secured a memorable return to the Champions League for the first time since 2016, and the key to this endeavor was Thuram. Roped in from French side Guingamp last year, he’s the son of former World Cup winner Lilian Thuram, and showed he too possesses some leadership qualities like his legendary father. The 22-year old led the line with aplomb, even forging a menacing strike partnership with Alessane Plea upfront. He was particularly boisterous after the shutdown, and finished with 10 goals in the league, whilst also making eight assists – both of which are the most in Gladbach’s squad for this season.
@FabrizioRomano <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/01/10-best-young-players-bundesliga-2019-20/"https://t.co/E1hroLL4sM">pic.twitter.com/E1hroLL4sM
<p>— B/R Football (@brfootball) <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/01/10-best-young-players-bundesliga-2019-20/"https://twitter.com/brfootball/status/1276949183371579392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>June 27, 2020</a></p></blockquote>
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<h3>#6 Kai Havertz (Bayer Leverkusen)</h3>
<p>Michael Ballack, Toni Kroos, Arturo Vidal, Son Heung-min, and Daniel Carvajal are some of the names which shot to stardom while playing for <em>Die Werkself</em> during their younger days. The latest young gun to emerge at BayArena is Kai Havertz, who took on the captain’s mantle at only 20 and led by an example. With 16 goals (12 in the league) and nine assists in all competitions, his exploits helped Leverkusen finish fifth in the Bundesliga, while also becoming the youngest player to reach 100 top-flight appearances in the meantime. Havertz’s stellar year has espied the eye of several <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/01/10-best-young-players-bundesliga-2019-20/"https://playingfor90.com/2020/06/23/3-reasons-kai-havertz-manchester-united/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Premier League clubs</a>, some of whom may even launch bids for him in the summer.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">A star in the making 🌟</p>
<p>The only way is up for <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/01/10-best-young-players-bundesliga-2019-20/"https://twitter.com/kaihavertz29?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>@kaihavertz29 📈 <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/01/10-best-young-players-bundesliga-2019-20/"https://t.co/OIdU8QFjws">pic.twitter.com/OIdU8QFjws
<p>— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/01/10-best-young-players-bundesliga-2019-20/"https://twitter.com/Bundesliga_EN/status/1277587874175565827?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>June 29, 2020</a></p></blockquote>
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<h3>#5 Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich)</h3>
<p>Bundesliga’s very own <em>Road Runner</em>, the <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/01/10-best-young-players-bundesliga-2019-20/"https://bayernstrikes.com/2020/06/28/alphonso-davies-reflects-season-bayern-munich/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">young Canadian</a> starlet caused plenty of stir with his electrifying speed, even smashing the league record for the fastest sprint after he clocked 36.51 kilometres in a recent match to Werder Bremen. However, there’s more to his game than just that. Davies is an exceptional tackler of the ball, while his vision and positional awareness also saw him make several crucial blocks and clearances. His attacking output too, is encouraging after contributing eight goals and assists combined. Davies, the winner of Bundesliga’s rookie of the year award 2019/20, has already achieved so much, and his precocious talents suggest he’s going to be a very important figure for the Bavarians in the future.</p>
<h3>#4 Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig)</h3>
<p>There’s more to Leipzig than just Timo Werner, and no one has proved it more than last summer’s acquisition, Christopher Nkunku. With an astounding 15 assists, the former PSG-outcast finished behind only Thomas Muller and Jadon Sancho in that regard, whilst also chipping in with another five goals himself. As the aforesaid German now set sails with Chelsea, the 22-year old will be crucial to Leipzig’s Champions League run too in August, and might as well in France’s European campaign next year.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/01/10-best-young-players-bundesliga-2019-20/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Leipzig's outgoing star & Dortmund's dynamic duo </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-482478" src=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/01/10-best-young-players-bundesliga-2019-20/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2020%2F06%2F1194371477.jpeg" alt="Bundesliga" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://playingfor90.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2020/06/1194371477.jpeg 3200w, https://playingfor90.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2020/06/1194371477-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Jadon Sancho and Erling Haaland, Bundesliga 2019/20 (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>#3 Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund)</h3>
<p><a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/01/10-best-young-players-bundesliga-2019-20/"https://bvbbuzz.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BVB</a> have an uncanny knack of snapping up some of the most promising young players in the circuit and this season, they got their hands on Haaland after his barnstorming run with RB Salzburg. Costing only £17.1 million, the Norwegian took no time prove his worth, netting an amazing hat-trick on his Bundesliga debut, before adding another 13 in the next 17 games across all competitions.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Erling Haaland's breakout season was one to remember.</p>
<p>He'll be back. <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/01/10-best-young-players-bundesliga-2019-20/"https://t.co/7u7GKiCrTE">pic.twitter.com/7u7GKiCrTE
<p>— B/R Football (@brfootball) <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/01/10-best-young-players-bundesliga-2019-20/"https://twitter.com/brfootball/status/1276995679399936000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>June 27, 2020</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>Not to mention the numerous records he broke along the way, such as the fastest player to score seven goals in the German top-tier and the only the second Dortmund player ever to net thrice on league debut. Even though he appeared relatively rusty after the shutdown, Haaland’s breakthrough year was one to remember and at 19, he’s only going to improve from here.</p>
<h3>#2 Timo Werner (RB Leipzig)</h3>
<p>Werner appears to be Germany’s best striking talent since arguably Miroslav Klose. Even though he still has a long way to go before emulating the legendary striker, his prolific attacking qualities hold him in good stead to lead the line for the <em>Nationalelf</em> for years to come. This season, he finished as the best marksman in the Bundesliga after only Robert Lewandowski with 28 goals, his best ever tally, and also made another eight assists. Werner has improved year on year, and will now hope to replicate those heroics with Chelsea in the Premier League.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">After four years and 95 goals, Timo Werner leaves Leipzig as the club's all-time top scorer.</p>
<p>Next stop, Stamford Bridge 🎯 <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/01/10-best-young-players-bundesliga-2019-20/"https://t.co/8Djgpuv0h0">pic.twitter.com/8Djgpuv0h0
<p>— B/R Football (@brfootball) <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/01/10-best-young-players-bundesliga-2019-20/"https://twitter.com/brfootball/status/1276897065247944704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>June 27, 2020</a></p></blockquote>
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<h3>#1 Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund)</h3>
<p>After a phenomenal breakthrough last year, Sancho elevated his game by another notch or two. His prolific run yielded 17 goals and 16 assists, the most goal-contribution in the Bundesliga this season behind only Robert Lewandowski, whilst also being the catalyst behind Dortmund’s sustained title charge until the last few weeks.</p>
<p>Widely touted to be England’s next big thing, the 21-year old has propelled himself into Ballon d’Or conversations and after such an emphatic campaign, is also one of the leading favorites for the ‘Golden Boy’ award of 2020. His prodigious talents have even alerted many bigwigs of the Premier League, who’re jostling for <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/01/10-best-young-players-bundesliga-2019-20/"https://bvbbuzz.com/2020/05/29/jadon-sancho-wants-borussia-dortmund-exit-rumour/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">his services this summer</a>.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="5 reasons for Arsenal to remain positive despite poor run" data-url="https://playingfor90.com/2020/06/29/arsenal-5-key-reasons-positive-hardship/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/01/10-best-young-players-bundesliga-2019-20/"https://playingfor90.com/2020/06/29/arsenal-5-key-reasons-positive-hardship/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> 5 reasons for Arsenal to remain positive despite poor run </a> </div>
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<p>Who was your best young player of Bundesliga in 2019/20 season?</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">