Keep your eyes glued to these Bundesliga players this season
By Matt Addison
Corentin Tolisso (Bayern Munich)
24-year-old French international Corentin Tolisso arrived from Lyon last summer and has now had a full season to acclimatise to life in Germany.
The resilient box-to-box midfielder has bags of energy and scored ten times in his debut season, an impressive number from the centre of the field and for his first season in new surroundings. His aggression, clinical nature in front of goal and creative flair bodes well for future campaigns.
Despite Leon Goretzka coming in, and Thiago for competition, Tolisso will evolve into a key man for Bayern this season both in domestic competitions and in Europe.
When he made his senior debut for Lyon at the age of 19, he came on as a substitute late on and did not have a single touch; there is no doubt he will see plenty of the ball in the next nine months.
Kevin Kampl (RB Leipzig)
27-year-old Slovenian Kevin Kampl was brought in by Leipzig last summer from Bayer Leverkusen with the idea of bedding him in before Naby Keita departed for Liverpool.
That the club view him as being good enough to replace Keita speaks volumes. The creative attack-minded midfielder only managed one league goal last season, but with Keita gone, he could thrive on the additional responsibility.
He never quite got going at Borussia Dortmund, but is now in the peak of his career and tasked with being one of Leipzig’s key men in a season that they hope to build solid foundations ready for Julian Nagelsmann to arrive next summer ahead of 2019-20.
He only notched one goal in the Bundesliga last season but has already got one goal and one assist in Europa League qualifying, and his intensity, hard work and passing qualities make him one to watch when the new season gets underway.