European football expert ranks Premier League's Bundesliga imports - Newcastle United man pipped by bitter rivals
The Premier League was quite busy raiding the Bundesliga this summer, with no fewer than 10 players making the switch from the German top flight to the Premier League.
Newcastle United were, of course, amongst the clubs looking to Germany for inspiration, ultimately landing Nick Woltemade from VfB Stuttgart after missing out on Eintracht Frankfurt's Hugo Ekitike, who ultimately joined Liverpool, and Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig, who opted for Manchester United.
The Reds also landed Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen, while Tottenham Hotspur brought in Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig.
All of those were high-profile moves with Wirtz being a particularly pricey deal for, so far, very little payoff. As a result, it's no surprise that Wirtz doesn't top the list made by European football expert Andy Brassell.
Nick Woltemade was Andy Brassell's second-place German import, just beating Hugo Ekitike
Newcastle's acquisition, Nick Woltemade, was deemed the second-best German import as Brassell believes the forward has amazing potential, as he said in his write-up for TalkSPORT, in which he grouped his explanation with that of third-placed Ekitike.
“I knew they'd both be good. But the speed with which they've been good and the speed with which they've become important to their teams is super impressive.
“Whereas Ekitike has been great straight away, I've been surprised that A, Woltemade has treated the pressure like it's nothing, and B, seeing him realising that he has got a long way to go, and he can get better and better and better, I think probably makes him the pick so far.
“So, if we're talking about how they've adapted, I would give both Woltemade and Ekitike 8.5 out of 10.
“But if I had to rate the player who's going to be long-term, the player who's going to be the better Premier League striker, I think I'd go Woltemade by a whisker, because there's such a high ceiling.
“So, I think that's huge - Woltemade’s just above Ekitike on the two 8.5s...I guess Woltemade goes first because he's a bit taller!”
Granit Xhaka was Andy Brassell's pick for top German import
So if Big Nick was No. 2, who was top of the pile? It was, who many have labelled the signing of the season, Sunderland's Granit Xhaka.
Xhaka came from Bayer Leverkusen, returning to the Premier League after a two-year absence and picking up like he'd never left. He's been massive for the Mackems and is a huge reason why Sunderland are sitting fourth in the Premier League.
We're not going to lie, when Sunderland signed Xhaka we thought he was past it and would be an absolute waste of money. Perhaps that's just what we wanted to believe. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth.
