It’s been an intriguing 2018/19 Bundesliga season thus far, with Borussia Dortmund looking to push Bayern Munich all the way as the Bavarians aim to retain their title for the 6th season in a row.

Many young players seem to have chosen this season to emerge as future stars, the most obvious being 18-year-old English winger Jadon Sancho, the well documented former Manchester City player proving to be a pivotal part of BVB’s success.

Although Sancho has been brilliant and deserves the plaudits which he has received, his success has taken away the spotlight from many of the Bundesliga’s other young talents, and we’ll look at just how successful these other players have been this season and why that’s the case.

Remarkably, seven out of the Bundesliga’s top ten scorers this season are aged 25 or under, highlighting the quality of the youth within the league. Current top scorer 21-year-old Luka Jović came to Eintracht Frankfurt on loan from Portuguese giants Benfica and has been a key factor behind Die Adler’s push towards the European places, whilst the native youngsters have also impressed, with the likes of 22-year-old forward Timo Werner and 19-year-old midfielder Kai Havertz having continued their impressive progression at RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen respectively, having netted 20 times between them.

Jović’s impressive form has seen him linked with the likes of Manchester City for a summer move, and he’s not been the only foreign import to make an impact in Germany’s top tier this season.

25-year-old Frenchman Alassane Pléa has been a fundamental part of Borussia Mönchengladbach’s impressive campaign so far, netting an impressive 10 goals in 22 appearances to mean Gladbach currently hold the position of ‘best of the rest’ behind Dortmund and Bayern in third place.

Meanwhile 25-year-old Spaniard Paco Alcácer has hit remarkable goal-scoring figures for the leaders from mainly substitute appearances, getting 12 goals from 759 minutes of play which gives him a remarkable record of averaging a goal every 63 minutes, with his impact off the bench being a key reason as to why Dortmund have seemingly crossed that bridge to be able to give Bayern a real title race.

So just why has the Bundesliga seemingly become a home for these younger talents to show their quality? And why is it they appear to be having so much success? Well the lack of young German quality coming through the academies of the Bundesliga’s sides means teams have had to look elsewhere for players to develop for the future.

The likes of Werner and Havertz, aside from a few of others such as Joshua Kimmich, have been the only German natives to suggest that they have the ability to perform for the Bundesliga’s elite sides and establish themselves as top players.

The national side majorly flopped at the 2018 World Cup and finds itself at an awkward crossroads of seasoned veterans nearing the end of their international careers and a distinct lack of youth capable to replace them, meaning the side has become disjointed and ineffective.

All this means that domestically, Bundesliga clubs have had to find alternatives to remain competitive, and this has given the perfect opportunity for players struggling to establish themselves in their home countries to come to Germany to showcase their talents.

This description perfectly fits the journey of the aformentioned Sancho, who was brave enough to take the plunge of moving to another country and is now reaping the rewards of such a decision through regular first team football and an international call up in October 2018.

Reiss Nelson is another example of a young English winger who has found a new lease of life in Germany’s top tier, leaving Arsenal on loan to join Hoffenheim where he has also impressed, notching six goals in 15 matches.

The situation with the national side and the seemingly limited pool of young German talent has meant that now is the perfect time for youngsters to showcase their talent in the Bundesliga, as clubs begin to look elsewhere for those players to push them onto the next level.

Right now for a young up and coming footballer, with the situation as it is, there seems no better place to be than in the Bundesliga.

(Featured Image Credit: BVB Buzz)