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Liverpool have paid Eintracht Frankfurt an initial £69m to make Hugo Ekitiké their third summer buy from the Bundesliga, after the club record signing Florian Wirtz and right-back Jeremie Frimpong joined from Bayer Leverkusen. Leeds have also brought in three players from Germany’s top flight – Anton Stach, Sebastiaan Bornauw and Lukas Nmecha – and Jamie Gittens, who has moved to Chelsea, is among others who have made that journey in this transfer window. Here we look at 10 notable Premier League signings from the Bundesliga and how they fared.
Michael Ballack: Bayern Munich to Chelsea, May 2006, free
The Germany international played an important and disciplined role at Chelsea in a period when they won one league title and three FA Cups. A proven player in the Bundesliga, where he won trophies with Kaiserslautern and Bayern Munich and went agonisingly close with Bayer Leverkusen, Ballack displayed many of his known qualities in the Premier League and a new defensive skillset that complemented and helped to get the best from Frank Lampard.
Vincent Kompany: Hamburg to Manchester City, Aug 2008, £6m
Kompany arrived at the Etihad a relatively unfamiliar name to English fans. He left 11 years and 12 trophies later anything but. Kompany became City’s captain before the 2011-12 season, when the club famously pipped Manchester United on the final day to win their first Premier League title. The defender played key roles in some of the greatest teams of the Premier League era, including City’s record-breaking centurions season. He left in 2019, widely recognised as the club’s greatest defender.
Roberto Firmino, Hoffenheim to Liverpool, June 2015, £29m
Firmino was signed by Liverpool under Brendan Rogers and many fans didn’t understand how he would fit in. He was not an out-and-out striker and didn’t seem particularly fast or strong. Inside four months Rodgers had gone and Jürgen Klopp had taken over. Klopp would see the potential in “Bobby”, who became massively influential over the next eight years as Liverpool won their first league title in 30 years, the Champions League, Club World Cup, FA Cup and League Cup. Firmino became a fan favourite and his “Sí señor” chant still regularly rings around the Kop. Klopp would describe the Brazilian as “the heart and soul” of his team.
Bastian Schweinsteiger: Bayern Munich to Manchester United, July 2015, £14.4m
Schweinsteiger headed to Old Trafford as one of the most decorated midfielders of the century after securing 20 trophies with Bayern, including eight Bundesliga titles and the Champions League. The German also won the World Cup the year before joining United. Despite this pedigree, his time in Manchester was underwhelming. He made 35 appearances, scoring twice, and – hampered by injuries – failed to show the levels of his time with Bayern. In his second season, he was exiled from the first team by José Mourinho and shipped to Chicago Fire.
Son Heung-min: Bayer Leverkusen to Spurs, Aug 2015, £22m
Son arrived in north London after a career-best season at Leverkusen featuring 21 goals and assists, including three goals in the Champions League. In 10 seasons with Spurs, he is now a club legend, scoring 173 times and providing 101 assists. The forward has been the club’s player of the season three times and became club captain in 2023. Son has established himself as one of the Premier League’s best players, sharing the Golden Boot in the 2021-22 season. He is wanted by Los Angeles this summer.
Kevin De Bruyne: Wolfsburg to Manchester City, Aug 2015, £54m
Arguably the best Premier League signing from the Bundesliga. De Bruyne won two Premier League player-of-the-season awards on his way to five Premier League titles with City. He also won the FA Cup twice, the League Cup five times and the Champions League. Many regard De Bruyne as one of the greatest Premier League midfielders, and City have cemented his legacy by commissioning a statue of the Belgian.
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Timo Werner: RB Leipzig to Chelsea, June 2020, £47.5m
In Werner’s final season at Leipzig he looked like one of the game’s top strikers, providing 28 goals and eight assists in 34 Bundesliga appearances. The German could not find the same form in England. He received criticism from Chelsea fans for poor finishing, with 18 big chances missed in his first season, according to StatMuse. His form picked up in the second half of the season, Werner scoring against Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final, and he ended it with 12 goals and 15 assists in 52 appearances. The following season the German scored four league goals before being sold back to Leipzig for about half of what Chelsea paid. A return to the Premier League via a loan at Spurs was unsuccessful.
Kai Havertz: Bayer Leverkusen to Chelsea, Sept 2020, £70m
Huge expectation was placed upon Havertz, who had wowed in Germany, but his first season did not quite meet expectations, with four league goals and one in the Champions League, albeit the winner in the final. Admiration from supporters for that decisive strike would fade after headded only 15 goals in 64 league appearances in the next two seasons. Havertz was sold to Arsenal for £65m and immediately broke the 10-goal mark for the first time in England, netting 13 times, but he still divides opinion among fans. A hamstring injury last February was a setback for Arsenal’s trophy hopes.
Jadon Sancho: Borussia Dortmund to Manchester Utd, July 2021, £73m
Sancho mesmerised at Dortmund, averaging almost 38 goals and assists a season in his final three years there. Abhorrent racist abuse after England’s Euro 2020 final defeat may have affected Sancho, who managed only five goals and three assists in his first campaign with United. His woes continued as he fell out of favour there after scoring seven times in the 2022-23 season. He made only three appearances for United the following season after a falling-out with Erik ten Hag, before being loaned back to Dortmund in January. He has since been on loan at Chelsea, who last month paid United £5m to get out of their obligation to buy him.
Erling Haaland, Dortmund to Manchester City, June 2022, £51.5m
Haaland’s time at Dortmund was exceptional, the Norwegian scoring 86 goals in 89 appearances. City had long been searching for the missing piece to win their first Champions League and Haaland scored 52 goals in his first season to help the club to a historic treble. That included breaking the Premier League record for goals in a single season and he added a second Golden Boot the season after as City won a fourth consecutive league title.
