Winter Window: Bundesliga Transfer Analysis

It was a busy time for the Bundesliga and we've got all of the transfer action captured, along with a quick analysis for each team. The formal list of transfer was compiled by Bundesliga.com and is available here.

Where possible, we added any youth player acquisitions that we could find.

Borussia Dortmund

IN: Leonardo Balerdi (Boca Juniors), Giovanni Reyna (NYCFC) - YOUTH OUT: Dzenis Burnic (Dynamo Dresden, loan), Alexander Isak (Willem II, loan), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea, will remain on loan at Dortmund until the end of 2018/19), Sebastian Rode (Eintracht Frankfurt, loan)

Brief Analysis: Leonardo Balerdi is a defender who has featured mostly at center back and should provide depth and a challenge to the existing core of defenders with Dortmund. The arrival of Balerdi could also end the "Julian Weigl as a center back experiment."

Isak was a player that BVB once had high hopes for. Ultimately Isak battled maturity issues and never recovered enough to break through into the first team lineup. Losing Pulisic (when he eventually goes this summer) was an expected and solid move given the return (€73m), but I'd have selfishly preferred that he remained in the Bundesliga.

The addition of Reyna to the youth system for BVB, should also turn out to be a solid move given his pedigree and talent.

Bayern Munich IN: Alphonso Davies (Vancouver Whitecaps), Benjamin Pavard (VfB Stuttgart, summer 2019), Chris Richards (FC Dallas) - YOUTH, Taylor Booth (Real Salt Lake) - YOUTH, Jannik Rochelt (FC Memmingen) - YOUTH OUT: Franck Evina (Holstein Kiel, loan), Sandro Wagner (Tianjin Teda)

Brief Analysis: Bayern will be shredded in some circles for not doing more for the first team than acquiring Davies for this window, but that would be an overreaction. Securing Pavard's summer arrival was key and the additions of Richards, Booth, and Rochelt should provide Bayern with depth and talent to develop within its youth ranks --- which is exactly what the Bavarians need at this stage.

Losing Wagner is a killer for depth, though. If Robert Lewandowski suffers an injury, Bayern will have to scramble to provide a solution.

Borussia Mönchengladbach IN: None. OUT: Laszlo Benes (Holstein Kiel, loan)

Brief Analysis: While it could have used some depth, M'Gladbach kept Thorgan Hazard (for now) so that is a big win.

RB Leipzig IN: Tyler Adams (New York Red Bulls), Amadou Haidara (Red Bull Salzburg), Emile Smith Rowe (Arsenal, loan), Hannes Wolf (Red Bull Salzburg, summer 2019) OUT: Felix Beiersdorf (released)

Brief Analysis: The addition of American Tyler Adams should be one to watch and could be one of the few transfers within the league that offers an immediate impact.

Wolfsburg IN: None. OUT: Riechedly Bazoer (Utrecht, loan), Jakub Blaszczykowski (released), Jeffrey Bruma (Schalke, loan), Paul Seguin (Greuther Fürth, loan)

Brief Analysis: Wolfsburg is content to roll with its current roster, but should absolutely be looking to provide more depth and talent this summer. The squad is solid, but does have some key areas for improvement.

Eintracht Frankfurt IN: Martin Hinteregger (Augsburg, loan), Sebastian Rode (Borussia Dortmund, loan), Almamy Toure (AS Monaco), Tuta (Sao Paulo) OUT: Deji Beyreuther (Chemnitzer FC, loan), Chico Geraldes (Sporting Lisbon, end of loan), Noel Knothe (Pipinsried, loan), Nicolai Müller (Hannover, loan), Carlos Salcedo (UANL Tigres), Felix Wiedwald (MSV Duisburg, loan)

Brief Analysis: Die Adler focused on depth additions to help bolster the squad that they hope will help its run at a Champions League position. With a high octane offense already in hand, a defender like Martin Hinteregger could be a key in helping Eintracht Frankfurt achieve that goal.

Hoffenheim IN: Lucas Ribeiro dos Santos (EC Vitória) OUT: Kevin Akpoguma (Hannover, loan), Vincenzo Grifo (Freiburg, loan), Gregor Kobel (Augsburg, loan), Felipe Pires (Palmeiras, loan), Steven Zuber (VfB Stuttgart, loan), Justin Hoogma (St. Pauli)

Brief Analysis: None of the moves above will significantly impact Hoffenheim, but the big key for TSG1899 is how it handles the post-Julian Nagelsmann coaching era. A more active summer window should help sure up some of the weaker spots on the roster.

Hertha Berlin IN: None OUT: Alexander Esswein (VfB Stuttgart, loan), Sidney Friede (Mouscron, loan), Fabian Lustenberger (Young Boys, summer 2019), Maximilian Pronichev (Hallescher FC, loan)

Brief Analysis: Hertha could have tweaked its roster with some extra attackers and depth, but did not. It's not necessarily a bad window, but it would have been great to see Die Alte Dame be a little more active.

Bayer Leverkusen IN: None OUT: Jakub Bednarczyk (St. Pauli), Tomasz Kucz (Dunajska Streda, loan)

Brief Analysis: Leverkusen is fine even with the lack of moves. It is far more important to try and mold that current roster group under Peter Bosz than to add in any new pieces.

Werder Bremen IN: Romano Schmid (Red Bull Salzburg) OUT: Luca Caldirola (Benevento Calcio), Jaroslav Drobny (Fortuna Düsseldorf), Ole Käuper (Erzgebirge Aue, loan)

Brief Analysis: Bremen is in much the same position as Leverkusen. Working with the existing group was pertinent. The odd rumor about Max Kruse possibly moving on never came to fruition for this window, but I'm expecting something to go down this summer.

Freiburg IN: Vincenzo Grifo (Hoffenheim, loan) OUT: Patrick Kammerbauer (Holstein Kiel, loan), Caleb Stanko (FC Cincinnati)

Brief Analysis: Grifo was going nowhere fast with Hoffenheim, so perhaps a fresh start will help get him moving in the right direction. I'm not sure that anything major was possible for Freiburg, but they really needed a boost of some sort. Hopefully Grifo can help provide that.

Mainz IN: None OUT: None

Brief Analysis: Honestly, Mainz has exceed expectations and it would have been nice to see them make some moves to enhance the team, but M05 is in a good spot to stay in the top flight and seek reinforcements over the summer.

Schalke IN: Jeffrey Bruma (Wolfsburg, loan), Rabbi Matondo (Manchester City) OUT: Abdul Rahman Baba (Chelsea, end of loan), Johannes Geis (Cologne, loan), Naldo (AS Monaco)

Brief Analysis: Matondo was the key acquisition for Schalke as he may be able to help ignite the offense for Die Königsblauen. Matondo has speed, but is considered a bit raw. He should be able to find his bearings for Schalke if he can earn playing time. Once Matondo is comfortable, his impact could be a game-changer for Domenico Tedesco.

Fortuna Düsseldorf IN: Johannes Bühler (free agent), Jaroslav Drobny (Werder Bremen), Dawid Kownacki (Sampdoria, loan with option to buy), Markus Suttner (Brighton and Hove Albion, loan) OUT: Johannes Bühler (VfR Aalen, loan), Taylan Duman (Borussia Dortmund reserves), Gökhan Gül (Wehen Wiesbaden, loan), Havard Nielsen (Duisburg, loan)

Brief Analysis: F95's little shake-up should help keep things fresh as the team has shown great spirit of late.

Augsburg IN: Seong-Hoon Cheon (FC Incheon United), Gregor Kobel (Hoffenheim, loan), Reece Oxford (West Ham United, loan) OUT: Caiuby (released), Martin Hinteregger (Eintracht Frankfurt, loan)

Brief Analysis: Augsburg needed an injection of life and while I'm not sure any of the incoming players will provide that, hopefully the exodus of Caiuby and Hinteregger can provide a boost for some of the younger players (Felix Gotze, Kevin Danso, Marco Richter) that will see more playing time as a result.

VfB Stuttgart IN: Alexander Esswein (Hertha Berlin, loan), Ozan Kabak (Galatasaray), Steven Zuber (Hoffenheim, loan) OUT: Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich, summer 2019), Ebenezer Ofori (New York City FC, loan renewal), Hans Nunoo Sarpei (Greuther Fürth, loan), Berkay Özcan (Hamburg, loan)

Brief Analysis: Losing Pavard was expected, but financially responsible for Die Schwaben. Perhaps Stuttgart should have taken Bayern up on its offer to bring in the French defender a little earlier for some extra coin. In the end, though, Stuttgart is seeking to avoid relegation and Pavard could help with that cause. Also, the move for Kabak could be a very positive one for Die Schwaben. The young Turk has great potential.

Hannover IN: Kevin Akpoguma (Hoffenheim, loan), Uffe Bech (Brondby, end of loan), Nicolai Müller (Eintracht Frankfurt, loan), Samuel Sahin-Radlinger (SK Brann, end of loan), Jonathas (loan recall from Corinthians) OUT: Philipp Tschauner (Ingolstadt, loan)

Analysis: Hannover needs a lot more help than what it got. 🤦‍♂️

FC Nurnberg IN: Ivo Ilicevic (Kairat Almaty) OUT: None

Brief Analysis: Short of Leo Messi moving over from FC Barcelona, Nurnberg is pretty much hosed.

#Bundesliga #Transfers