Florian Wirtz was finally able to celebrate, Niclas Füllkrug tries to escape, Nick Woltemade takes off – the Premier League is not an unproblematic place for German players.
The Premier League has managed to become the biggest destination for professional footballers. Since the explosion of television money and the numerous investors getting involved, the English football league has been the ultimate for many players because the already existing sporting intensity and tradition is coupled with sometimes exorbitant salaries. Anyone who plays in England is part of a footballing spectacle that can bring in a lot of money.
Quintet moved from the Bundesliga to the Premier League
More and more German players want to follow this call; last summer, in addition to many international stars, five German players also dared to make the jump from the Bundesliga to the Premier League. Bayer Leverkusen was most affected by the English shopping craze; Piero Hincapie (Arsenal FC), Granit Xhaka (AFC Sunderland) and Jeremie Frimpong (Liverpool FC) were keen to take the step, as was Florian Wirtz.
| player | Previous club | New club (transfer fee in euros) |
|---|---|---|
Florian Wirtz | Bayer Leverkusen | Liverpool FC (140 million) |
Nick Woltemade | VfB Stuttgart | Newcastle United (75 million) |
Anton Stach | TSG Hoffenheim | Leeds United (20 million) |
Merlin Röhl | SC Freiburg | Everton FC (loan) |
Luke Nmecha | VfL Wolfsburg | Leeds United (free transfer) |
The 22-year-old’s possible move dominated the headlines for weeks in the summer, but in the end the national player decided against FC Bayern Munich, who had even publicly courted him, and, like Frimpong, for Liverpool and the Premier League. But Wirtz also realizes that the dream of the island is not a sure-fire success, but one with hooks and eyes. With obstacles that some people have already failed at.
Wirtz has experiences like Havertz
In the 2-1 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Wirtz scored his first goal for the “Reds” in his 23rd competitive game. It was a relief after months full of criticism, doubts, disappointments, but also encouragement from his teammates and coach Arne Slot. You all know that it takes time to gain a foothold in the Premier League – regardless of quality or transfer fee.
Wirtz could have spoken about these problems with Kai Havertz, because his DFB colleague went through what he is now going through (or perhaps “went through” after his goal?). The then 21-year-old went to Chelsea FC in 2020 for 100 million euros and needed a very long time to get used to the physical nature of football. Havertz also had highlights (winning goal in the 2021 Champions League final), but overall it didn’t work nearly as hoped.
Havertz moved on to Arsenal FC after three years; the transfer fee had fallen to 75 million euros – and there was even public debate that the “Gunners” had made a serious mistake. However, Havertz blossomed again under Mikel Arteta, but now he has been slowed down by an injury that will keep him busy for some time to come.
Kai Havertz is injured on the pitch
Füllkrug pulls the emergency brake, Werner is out of bounds
Wirtz is hoping for a breakthrough after a bit of trying, but for Havertz it took a really long time and there are many other examples that illustrate the difficulties for top German players in England. Niclas Füllkrug is currently one of these, but the West Ham United chapter will soon be over as the low point of his career. After 1.5 years, 29 appearances (only eleven in the starting line-up) and three goals, he will most likely move to AC Milan.
The Premier League gave Füllkrug a real blow to his career, but it may have even ruined Timo Werner’s career. The then star striker went from RB Leipzig to Chelsea in 2020 for 53 million euros, where the start wasn’t entirely bad, but then the decline was rapid. After two years he went back to Leipzig for less than half the previous fee, but Werner was no longer the same.
Niclas Füllkrug (l.) and Timo Werner at an international match in 2023
Things were going well for a year, but since the 2023/24 season the ex-national player has been desperately fighting to keep up. He was no longer in demand at RB, then his second Premier League attempt at Tottenham Hotspur (loan for 1.5 years) failed. Werner has now been back in Leipzig since the summer, made three short appearances (13 minutes) in the first half of the season and is on the sidelines at the age of 29.
Woltemade, Thiaw and Stach as Positive examples
Many front-row stars have stumbled or even fallen in England, but there are at least players like Nick Woltemade – and also his teammate Malick Thiaw – who got along well from the start. The striker has already scored ten competitive goals for Newcastle United since his 75 million euro transfer in the summer and the fans celebrate him as “Big Nick”. But he is actually not the only German who shines in the Premier League. Then a second problem arises.
Wirtz, Havertz, Füllkrug, Werner and Woltemade were the focus of the DFB when they moved to England. But if you’re not, it’s obviously not that easy for you to get into it on the island. Anton Stach regularly delivers top performances at Leeds United, but has already complained about how little influence this seems to have on his chances with national coach Julian Nagelsmann, who has not yet nominated him.
Anton Stach in the Leeds United jersey
Stach made the transition to the Premier League extremely well; he was in the starting line-up in 14 of 16 league games and was directly involved in five goals. In October he promised in an interview with “Sky”: “I’ll just carry on and then try to do a little more so that maybe the right people will look at it and notice.” He follows his words with actions.
Schade managed to do what Stach tried to do
Kevin Schade also shows action at Brentford FC, scoring a hat trick to win against AFC Bournemouth (4-1) on Saturday. The winger has been playing in the Premier League since the beginning of 2023, he also had to grow with the task, but he managed it. Schade already scored eleven goals last season and now has six goals – and has now become a little more present in Nagelsmann’s head.
Schade was in the squad for the two crucial World Cup qualifying games in Luxembourg (2-0) and against Slovakia (6-0), and he even played 24 minutes in Luxembourg (he had never been allowed to play for that long for Germany’s senior team before). He took the rocky path in the Premier League, perhaps even sustainably making it to the DFB team. It’s a shame that the treacherous dream of the island can give you a career boost. For others it was or is a career break.