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Came to VfB a year ago for a € 8 million transfer fee: attacker Silas Wamangituka
Photo:
David Inderlied / dpa
At Borussia Dortmund, Jadon Sancho, 20, has only just developed into one of the absolute top stars of the Bundesliga - now the next youngster at BVB could already go a similar path.
Almost all clubs have talent hoping for a breakthrough in the Bundesliga.
At the start of the new season, we are introducing you to five talents who can do it this season.
Name
: Silas Wamangituka
Age
: 20 years
Club
: VfB Stuttgart
Position
: Right wing, attack
Bundesliga appearances (including starting eleven):
0
For years, VfB Stuttgart flushed mainly young German players into the Bundesliga and into the national team.
But today the club has long since ceased to be the top dog in the region, and Hoffenheim is vigorously advertising for the next generation from the neighborhood.
Top talent now has to be bought in from VfB.
This is where Silas Wamangituka comes in.
Silas, as he calls himself on the shirt, came to VfB a year ago from the French second division.
The offensive player can hurt the opponent several times.
With his enormous speed he often gets behind the defensive chain with long passages, but also with the ball, with his hooks and feint, he left defenders standing in rows in the last second division season of VfB.
And Silas is accurate in the 16-meter room at the direct conclusion.
VfB sports director Sven Mislintat once said of the attacker from the Congo that he could "refine what the whole team is doing".
Against low second division opponents, Silas rarely got the space he would have needed for his speed runs from his own half.
But because he is strong in one-on-one and in front of goal, he still managed to score 15 goals in 29 second division games.
Now that VfB has returned to the top division and will meet more risk-taking teams, it is very possible that Silas will be even more conspicuous.
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After Jadon Sancho, the next young star at BVB: Giovanni Reyna
Photo: Christof Koepsel / Bongarts / Getty Images
Name
: Giovanni Reyna
Age
: 17 Years
Club
: Borussia Dortmund
Position
: Attacking midfield, left wing
Bundesliga appearances (including starting eleven):
15 (2)
When Andrea Pirlo ended his great career at New York City FC from 2015 to 2017, Giovanni Reyna was still playing for the offspring of the US club.
One of Pirlo's numerous strengths was the clarified development game.
With the young US international Reyna, there are at least trace elements of this ability to be observed.
He's amazingly mature for his age.
Even under pressure, when the opponent presses, the 17-year-old often makes the right decision when the ball can be passed forward or whether it is better to take the pace out of the game.
The BVB team-mates appreciate this speed of action, the precise, sharp passing game and his shooting technique.
"He has all the qualities to become a regular player," said Axel Witsel after Reyna's first professional season in Dortmund, when Lucien Favre used him as a playmaker and left winger.
Reyna is unlikely to be part of the first team in his second year as a professional.
If captain Marco Reus stays fit, there is no place, especially in the ten position.
But Favre thinks a lot of him, including in important knockout matches such as the cup and in the Champions League, he brought Reyna.
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Long injured in Leipzig, now in Gladbach: Hannes Wolf
Photo: Lars Baron / Getty Images
Name
: Hannes Wolf
Age
: 21 Years
Club
: Borussia Mönchengladbach
Position
: Attacking midfield
Bundesliga appearances (including starting eleven):
5 (0)
RB Leipzig spent twelve million euros on Hannes Wolf a year ago.
The Austrian hardly played, he only managed 50 minutes.
Because of a broken leg shortly before RB's arrival at the U21 European Championship, he initially missed the summer preparation and then other players were seeded.
That Wolf still has the quality for the breakthrough, he wants to show in Mönchengladbach, where he will play on loan.
For Wolf, it will be a reunion with the coach who has already promoted him at RB Salzburg: Marco Rose.
With his dribbling qualities and the outstanding shooting technique, Wolf quickly caught the eye of the Salzburg professionals;
in 72 competitive games he came to 35 goal participations.
But Wolf isn't just one for the show, he works well against the ball too.
Rose describes the player he met at the age of 15 as a "mentality player" who has fighting strengths.
But Wolf is also someone who will improve the Gladbach team in "breadth and tip".
One reads over and over again the résumés of footballers who work particularly well in one environment and less in another.
Maybe Wolf needs his old companion again to make the leap from top talent to Bundesliga star.
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Born and trained in Berlin: The DFB also has high hopes for Lazar Samardzic
Photo: Oliver Hardt / Getty Images for DFB
Name
: Lazar Samardzic
Age
: 18 Years
Club
: RB Leipzig
Position
: Attacking midfield
Bundesliga appearances (including starting eleven):
0
For Hertha's U17 he scored 40 goals and 17 assists in 40 championship games.
In the U19 selection of Berlin, he scored 15 goals and nine assists in 17 games.
These are impressive numbers, and Lazar Samardzic's self-confidence seems correspondingly high.
This summer he decided: He's already too big for Hertha, and the 18-year-old will be wearing the RB Leipzig jersey from the new season.
So he decided to have enormous competition in his position (Dani Olmo, Christopher Nkunku).
It is still quite possible that he will still be deployed.
Samardzic is an exceptional talent when it comes to ball control, dribbling and passing.
His first contact is so strong that he can play off his opponents even in the smallest of spaces.
What sets him apart from most players of his age: He is not a specialist.
Samardzic is also able to score goals himself.
He often initiates attacks and closes them in the box himself.
Cleverness, a good sense of space and good shooting technique.
The DFB junior player is someone who can inspire viewers.
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Here in action for the U21 national team: Freiburg's Nico Schlotterbeck plays on loan at Union Berlin
Photo: Christof Koepsel / Getty Images for DFB
Name
: Nico Schlotterbeck
Age
: 20 years
Club
: Union Berlin
Position
: Central defender
Bundesliga appearances (including starting eleven):
17 (6)
Stefan Kuntz worries about the next generation of German footballers.
The U21 national coach has repeatedly complained that young German players are getting too little match experience in their clubs - and that too few are under contract in the top division.
Nico Schlotterbeck's criticism has so far partially applied: In Freiburg, he was often used in the Bundesliga, but he was rarely in the starting XI.
That could change at Union, where he's loaned to.
Schlotterbeck is the kind of defensive player that coaches like.
He often sees the danger before it has arisen, he watches and stands well, catches balls early and usually gets by without fouls.
Schlotterbeck's actions seem calm and well thought-out, his technique is clean, it also helps him to set up the game.
His strengths allow him to be even more courageous with the ball, he could position himself even more ready for his teammates.
If Schlotterbeck manages this second step, he should become a Bundesliga regular at Union;
like his brother Keven, 23, who was loaned to Union from Freiburg last year.
Stefan Kuntz should also be a little more satisfied with his U21 staff.
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