Bundesliga Transfer Round Up: May – The Early Birds Catch The Worms

Vincenzo Grifo to Borussia Mönchengladbach

At a very shrewd price of just €6.5 million, this is a brilliant bit of business from Mönchengladbach. Vincenzo Grifo was one of, if not the best players for Freiburg last year, contributing 6 goals and 8 assists in a campaign that saw them finish in 7th place and in the European qualification places on their return to the Bundesliga following promotion by winning the 2. Bundesliga in 2015/16. So I think this is a great little piece of business for Mönchengladbach as they look to forget last season and get back on track by aiming to finish in the top 6 again, as this is a position they’ve become accustomed to in the last few years, and with former Wolfsburg manager Dieter Hecking now at the helm they have the leadership required to challenge the best teams in the division. Freiburg should be disappointed they didn’t get more money for such a key player in their squad but now it is more important that they keep the likes of Maximilian Philipp – who has been linked with a host of big clubs such as Spurs and Dortmund – as Freiburg could slip down the table if they don’t replace their key players this summer.

John Anthony Brooks to Wolfsburg

Hertha Berlin’s Captain America has chosen to leave the Olympiastadion and move to the Volkswagen Arena to join a Wolfsburg side who only just managed to stay in the Bundesliga following a relegation playoff victory over Eintracht Braunschweig. The fee for the player is around €20 million and this is not bad a fee for a leader on the pitch, and the American is still only 24 so has plenty of years left in the tank for Wolfsburg. He has been an excellent servant to Hertha Berlin, forming an excellent partnership with young German centre-half Niklas Stark, and they have become one of the most organised defences in the league and so Hertha will need to spend well in this transfer window in order to replace him. The question now is who will Pal Dardai now choose to be his new captain for the upcoming season following Brooks’ departure.

Mathew Leckie to Hertha Berlin

Ingolstadt have already parted ways with a host of players this summer such as Pascal Gross and Roger who have both left the club following their relegation, but is Mathew Leckie “too good” to go down with Ingolstadt to the second division? I’d say no personally as he has a very poor end product although he is lightning quick and this is something that teams will look at in him. But he was never too big for the club and I do believe that he is an upgrade on the likes of Alexander Esswein and is a good squad player to have in terms of rotation for Hertha, but he isn’t better than Kalou, Weiser or Haraguchi who usually play down the wing for Hertha Berlin. But for a small fee of around €5 million, this could turn out to be a shrewd price for the Aussie winger.

Davie Selke to Hertha Berlin

Showed real potential at Werder Bremen but never really got a chance at RB Leipzig following the arrival of Timo Werner, it was definitely time for Davie Selke to move on in order to expand his horizons and get his career back on track having stalled last season. The fee is believed to be around 10 million euros which is a good investment for Hertha, as with an ageing front line with the likes of Salomon Kalou and Vedad Ibisevic, Selke is guaranteed to be getting game time at the capital club, and after he showed bags of promise when playing for Werder Bremen, he will be looking to prove his doubters and his old club wrong. After losing a big name in John Anthony Brooks it’s good to see Hertha Berlin already investing that money into an equally good player in the areas in which they need to improve.