The Bundesliga has lost one of its two star names and the other is set to depart.
Erling Braut Haaland’s time at Borussia Dortmund was always going to be limited and fans of the club will forever remember fondly his two and a half years at the Signal Iduna Park.
Likewise, there has been no better front man than Robert Lewandowski over the past eight years and his goals and record-breaking time at champions Bayern Munich will not be forgotten even if it appears to be coming to an end – despite the club’s protestations.
This SBOTOP writer actually believes the Bavarians will allow the Pole to leave but only if Barcelona, seemingly his preferred destination, have the funds to match Bayern’s valuation.
And so, with or without Lewandowski and Haaland, attention turns to the next season of Bundesliga highlights.
Despite the departure(s), the Bundesliga remains one of the best leagues to nurture young talent and welcome new entrants.
They also have kept, to date, a player who my 10-year-old grandson informs me is a real talent and someone Manchester United should sign!
Last season Christopher Nkunku earned many a headline with a string of man-of-the-match performances for Red Bull Leipzig. He scored 20 goals and made 13 assists as he well and truly exploded onto the European stage, earning six caps for France and winning the 2021/22 Bundesliga Player of the Year award.
Then there’s what is surely one of the most exciting signings of the German summer so far with Karim Adeyemi recruited by Dortmund from Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg.
The club clearly believes Adeyemi can step up from Salzburg as Haaland did before him.
With other new signings in forward Sebastien Haller and centre backs Niklas Süle and Nico Schlotterbeck, not to mention Edin Terzic replacing Marco Rose as coach, it promises to be an exciting time for Dortmund and possibly the start of a rebuild.
Haller has come in as the man to fill Haaland’s boots and does so on the back of a blistering 34 goals in 42 games for Ajax last season. That included 11 in eight Champions League outings, with two coming against Dortmund.
Perhaps Dortmund will end up with more depth and variability so they can give the champions a run for their money after finishing well adrift last term.
The Bundesliga betting odds still heavily favour Bayern though – and I would back them every step of the way.
Amid their European disappointment where they were surprisingly ousted by Villarreal in the Champions League quarter-final stage, it’s hard to forget Julian Nagelsmann’s side were just four short of Bayern’s bar-raising 101 Bundesliga goal return in 1971/72, continuing a recent trend of near misses as they hunt down their league best from half a century ago.
Hansi Flick’s 2019/20 team became only the second team to hit 100 goals in a sole Bundesliga campaign too and were just one away from the record, while they pulled up two shy of that 1972 vintage the following season
Then, of course there is Sadio Mane who arrives with a superb pedigree after six years with Liverpool.
The 2019 African Player of the Year, this year he has also won the League Cup and FA Cup double and the African Cup of Nations.
Gerd Müller’s 40 goals powered Udo Lattek’s side to both the title and the record all those years ago and it’s been Lewandowski – who bettered Müller’s 40-goal best in 2020/21 by registering 41 strikes – who has fired Bayern’s string of recent challenges.
As well as breaking the 40-goal barrier, the Pole has hit 30 or more goals in each of his last three seasons and, if they keep hold of him, Bayern may now have the additional firepower to reset the bar.
There is also Thomas Müller who provided 18 Bundesliga assists last time out and will relish the opportunity to tee up his new teammate.
Mane’s presence – and ability across the front line – at the Allianz Arena should also bring out the best of Kingsley Coman, Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sane, who know they will have to be at the top of their game to get minutes ahead of the club’s latest marquee arrival, especially with places in World Cup squads to secure.
Who else to look out for?
Well, Hertha Berlin have pulled off a significant loan in enticing the experienced goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow to Gelsenkirchen on a one-year loan deal from Hertha Berlin who, themselves, have brought in full-back Jonjoe Kenny from Everton.
Bayern’s double acquisition from Ajax in right-back Noussair Mazraoui and midfielder Ryan Gravenberch have also caught my eye.
Gravenberch may be 20 but he seems ready to compete for a place in a Bayern engine room.
It is signings like these which, for me, will keep Bayern out in front in what should be a highly entertaining league once again.
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