The other European league that will be starting once again this weekend is the Bundesliga! How have last season’s top teams fared in the transfer market and what can you expect from them? Read on for our short take.
Kicks off: Friday 16th August 2019
First game: Bayern Munich vs Hertha Berlin
Champions Bayern Munich begin their title defence by hosting Herth Berlin on the 16th of August. Bayern Munich were pushed to the limit by Borussia Dortmund last season, with the title decided only on the final day of the season. Bayern have reinforced their defence with Lucas Hernandez and Benjamin Pavard after the departure of Mats Hummels but have been thwarted in their attempts to sign a young world class winger after both Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben have left the club. They have been rebuked by Manchester City at every step of the way in their pursuit of Leroy Sane throughout the summer and have had to make do with signing Ivan Perisic on loan.
With Perisic already being 30 years old, he is by no means the long-term solution to the gaping holes left by legends Ribery and Robben. We are pretty sure they will be in the market sooner rather than later for another winger or 2.
With the lack of any other transfer activity this window, fans would be right to expect an equally as tight a race for the title this season as the last.
The pressure is on for last season’s runner-ups Borussia Dortmund who begin their campaign at home as well, hosting Augsburg at the Signal Iduna Park. Dortmund have had a far busier transfer window than their rivals Bayern, bringing in the likes of Mats Hummels, Nico Schulz, Thorgan Hazard, Julian Brandt and Paco Alcacer.
They have also had some notable departures, with Abdou Diallo, Maximillian Philipp, Alexander Isak, Sebastian Rode, Shinji Kagawa and of course, Christian Pulisic leaving for pastures new. Dortmund already prepared for the departure of the American wonderkid Pulisic by bringing in Hazard but only time will tell if they are to miss the American wonderkid.
Bayer Leverkusen, VfL Wolfsburg and Borussia Mönchengladbach all begin their season on the 17th of August, with each one of them vying to go at least one better than the last time. Eintracht Frankfurt (after losing their top scorer Luka Jovic to Real Madrid) and RB Leipzig (who have managed to keep their talented squad intact) kick off their season on the 18th of August.
Hopes are high for RB Leipzig to do better than last term, with them strengthening their young squad further with Ademola Lookman, Christopher Nkunku, Hannes Wolf and Luan Candido.
