Despite having done good business this summer, Bundesliga clubs will be glad to see the end of the transfer window. The German football magazine 11 Freunde perhaps summed it up best with the headline – Schließ das Fenster, es zieht! – close the window, there’s a draft. The move from the Bundesliga to the Premier League started in relatively unspectacular fashion, with Spurs’ post-season signing of the Austrian centre-back Kevin Wimmer from FC Köln. Since then, however, the number of transfers has increased, as has their significance.

Wimmer’s move to London was followed by the transfer of Spanish striker Joselu from Hannover 96 to Stoke City, Roberto Firmino’s big-money switch from Hoffenheim to Liverpool and Japanese forward Shinji Okazaki’s move to Leicester City from Mainz 05 for around €11m.

An early standout transfer was that of Bastian Schweinsteiger to Manchester United. Although he was reportedly surplus to requirements, the Germany captain’s move had a sprinkling of glamour. The midfielder’s switch to Old Trafford was swiftly followed by Chelsea finally breaking Augsburg’s resolve and taking Abdul Rahman Baba to Stamford Bridge, and Spurs’ second dip into the Bundesliga talent pool saw them sign South Korean forward Son Heung-min from Bayer Leverkusen. And, of course, Manchester City left it late to blow all other transfers out of the water by splashing €70m on Belgian star Kevin de Bruyne from VfL Wolfsburg.

Add to this Louis van Gaal’s continued courtship of Thomas Müller, rumours around Arjen Robben, and Julian Draxler’s intermittent links to Arsenal, and it has been a disquieting time for Bundesliga trainers looking to plan for the season ahead.

The Premier League clubs’ inflated spending power, thanks to the latest TV deal, has made them dangerous admirers. It isn’t just the inflated transfer fees that make their advances impossible to ignore, but the personal terms on the table are often astronomical enough to turn the heads of most players. Despite already being one of the top earners at VfL Wolfsburg – themselves one of the highest payers in the Bundesliga – De Bruyne is reportedly earning €20m a season in Manchester.

Manchester City’s gain is very much Wolfsburg’s – and the Bundesliga’s – loss. With De Bruyne on fire last season, and Dutch forward Bas Dost banging in the goals, Wolfsburg gave the impression that they were on the verge of offering a serious and sustained challenge to Bayern Munich. Add to that a hopefully fully fit and focused Andre Schürrle and Dante coming in from Bayern, and trainer Dieter Hecking should have been thinking big. As it turns out though, De Bruyne’s exit – however well offset by the arrival of Julian Draxler for a club-record fee – is a kick in the teeth for not only Hecking and the fans, but also those hoping for a closer-run Bundesliga campaign. They have Draxler, but he could just as well have been the replacement for Ivan Perisic, who had just signed for Internazionale. With Draxler, Schürrle and De Bruyne, Wolfsburg fans could have started to dream.

As far as other challengers go, Borussia Dortmund have started encouragingly under Thomas Tuchel but they still have a way to go. The rest of the chasing pack – Schalke, Leverkusen and Gladbach – have previously found it difficult to sustain a long run of good form. Perhaps just as importantly, neither have the spending power of Volkswagen-backed Wolfsburg.

While Schalke have lost Draxler – albeit not to the Premier League – Bayer Leverkusen have waved goodbye to Son Heung-min after two very productive seasons in which the pacy forward scored 12 goals. As with De Bruyne, both Son and Draxler are in their early twenties and both clubs might have hoped for at least one more season from them. Under Roger Schmidt, Leverkusen look an impressive outfit, and signing Javier Hernández from Manchester United for around €11m could prove to be one of the deals of the summer. But, surely they would have stood more of a chance with both Hernández and Son.

In some cases, however, the move was on the cards. Roberto Firmino had probably outgrown Hoffenheim, a relatively small club, and they would have been happy to bring in €41m for a player they signed for around €4m in 2011. Further down the league, the moves of Okazaki, Rahman Baba and Joselu may have been less glamorous and expensive, but just as costly to the players’ now former clubs.

Augsburg tried to play hardball with Chelsea over Rahman Baba but would have been consigned to losing the Ghana defender as soon as José Mourinho had made the first enquiry. Having signed the player for only €2.5m last year, Augsburg – like Hoffenheim – may have done great business, but they have also lost an important first-team player, and one who would have been earmarked as a future cornerstone of the manager’s plans.

Leicester’s new acquisition, Shinji Okazaki, might not have set the world alight at VfB Stuttgart, but the Japanese forward became a key player after switching to Mainz 05 two seasons ago, scoring 27 goals in 65 league games. Although they look to have snapped up a ready-made replacement in Yoshinori Muto – who, at 23, has six years on Okazaki, and has already scored twice in the opening three league games – Mainz have lost their main goal threat and an international with an almost one-in-two scoring record for Japan from around 100 caps.

Like the other clubs mentioned, they did good business, turning a €1.5m purchase into an €11m sale after two seasons. It should also be said that Okazaki was keen to leave and Mainz were adamant that he would only be sold to a foreign club. Still, can they expect phone calls about Muto next summer, if his fine form continues?

Stoke City’s new Spanish striker, Joselu, was only at Hannover 96 for a year, but since arriving from Hoffenheim had scored some important goals for the club, who were looking to fill the shooting boots of Mame Diouf – the Spaniard’s new team-mate at the Britannia. Joselu has already been missed by a Hannover team who have failed to win in the first three games, scoring just twice.

Due to its sometimes random and frenzied nature, the transfer period – particularly towards the sharp end – is inherently an unsettling and exciting time for fans, players and clubs alike. There will always be winners and losers, and this year is no different. High profile players in the Premier League have seen deals fall through and even bridges with their existing employers and fans seemingly burnt. Still, it just seems that one trend of this window was the improvement of the Premier League at the expense of its German counterpart.

But before we start to feel too sorry for the Bundesliga clubs, the players leaving the country this summer have generally brought in decent transfer fees. Nevertheless, it’s all well and good handing clubs such as Augsburg, Hoffenheim, Mainz and Hannover sacks full of freshly printed bank notes, but this money does not guarantee anything. Who says they can simply replace the players they have lost?

Sure, Wolfsburg seem to have done a decent job bringing in an almost like-for-like De Bruyne replacement in Draxler, while keeping around €40m stuffed in their back pocket. But how likely is it that Hoffenheim will pluck another Firmino from Brazil, or that Augsburg will find another gem in the second division? It’s possible, yes, but it’s unlikely, at least in the short term. While Wolfsburg browse for a De Bruyne replacement, clubs further down the food chain are forced to look for the new De Bruyne – to dig for rough diamonds and hope others will not notice their sparkle too quickly.

And it is isn’t just financial constraints these clubs are working under. Although they are occasionally in the hunt for European football, Hoffenheim, Mainz, Hannover, and Augsburg (despite having a very talented trainer in Marcus Weinzierl) are not particularly glamorous destinations that hold a lot of pulling power that will attract new recruits.

All in all, the Bundesliga has emerged a little bruised from the transfer window. And while the larger clubs are able to roll with the punches and even throw a few of their own, other clubs may well be glancing nervously at the window, checking that it is not just closed, but locked – keeping out the draft for another four months at least.

• This article first appeared on Englische Woche

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