Jadon Sancho’s struggles at Manchester United this season has raised everyone’s eyebrows. It is quite surprising to see a player, who established himself as one of the world’s best youngsters in Bundesliga, fail to exceed his expectations at Man Utd. Here are nine other players from Bundesliga who have struggled to adapt to the wear and tear of the Premier League apart from the English youngster.
Kai Havertz
Chelsea broke the banks for Kai Havertz last year after getting impressed with his stellar form at Bayer Leverkusen. However, the German forward has failed to replicate a similar impact so far at Stamford Bridge. There were memorable occasions like the Champions League final, where he scored against Manchester City, but that doesn’t justify the £70million the Blues paid for the 22-year-old. However, he has been slowly returning to his best under Thomas Tuchel after finding then nets three times this season.
Timo Werner
Next up is Havertz’s club and international team-mate, Timo Werner. Werner was another much-anticipated acquisition from the Blues last year but has struggled so far to prove his worth. He was lethal in attack during his spell at Leipzig and consistently racked up impressive goal-scoring numbers. The German striker looks a shadow of his former self at Stamford Bridge.
Thiago Alcantara
Thiago Alcantara joined Liverpool shortly after leading Bayern Munich to a sextuple. The former Barcelona midfielder was touted to take the Reds to the next level, but those expectations proved false in the end. Thiago has struggled with injuries so far at Anfield.
Naby Keita
Keita arrived at Anfield in 2018 after creating huge waves at RB Leipzig. However, at Liverpool, he has been highly inconsistent and has made only 60 appearances in three years.
Sebastien Haller
Sebastien Haller is currently one of the best prolific forwards in Europe, racking up 14 goals for Ajax this season. But he was a huge failure at West Ham in the 19/20 and the following season. Hammers splurged a club record fee of 45m pounds in 2019 for the 27-year-old following his impressive spell at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Henrikh Mkhitaryan moved to Manchester United after a stellar 2015/16 season at Dortmund, where he racked up 11 goals and 15 assists. However, he endured a forgetful spell at Old Trafford under Jose Mourinho. The Armenian international would go on to represent Arsenal and Roma.
Joelinton
Newcastle United’s record signing Joelinton is turning out to be an utter disappointment, failing to replicate the form he enjoyed at Hoffenheim.
Baba Rahman
Chelsea bought Baba Rahman in 2015 from Augsburg for 14m pounds. The Ghanian left-back was a huge talent then but failed to prove himself at Stamford Bridge. Rahman is contracted to the Blues until 2024 and is currently on loan at Reading FC.
Shinji Kagawa
The Japanese star had a not-so memorable spell at Manchester United between 2012 and 2014, despite being part of the side winning the Premier League title. Kagawa joined the Red Devils after back to back impressive seasons at Jurgen Klopp’s Dortmund. The 32-year-old is currently plying his trade at the Greek club PAOK.
Jadon Sancho
Manchester United fans were over the moon after the club confirmed the signing of Jadon Samcho for 73m pounds. The expectations were huge on the Three Lions youngster and many cited him as the marquee signing who could help the Red Devils return to their heydays. Almost half of the season has passed, the 21-year-old is yet to score for Man Utd, despite making more than 10 appearances.
