The Premier League is a notoriously difficult division to settle into, with foreign imports frequently failing to have the desired impact.
However, it’s quite alarming to see five former flops in England now lighting up the Bundesliga with their talents every week…
Kevin de Bruyne
Despite spending around £7m on De Bruyne, Chelsea never really gave the Belgian youngster a chance. The 23-year-old made only three Premier League appearances for the Blues after being loaned to Werder Bremen, and was eventually shipped out to Wolfsburg for £18m in January 2014. Quite a healthy profit.
De Bruyne said he ‘lost the joy’ at Stamford Bridge, but 14 goals and 21 assists later for the Bundesliga high fliers, he’s no longer looking back…
Andre Schurrle
You could be forgiven for forgetting that Schurrle was a Chelsea player up until February this year. After failing to make a telling impact in his first season in the Premier League, he fell out of favour with Jose Mourinho and spent the early part of the current campaign getting splinters on the bench.
That was until Wolfsburg spied another chance to swoop, however, and – encouraged by De Bruyne’s successful switch – they landed Schurrle to boost their Champions League qualifying hopes. The former Chelsea pair have already been gelling well together…
Arjen Robben
It’s perhaps unfair to call Robben another Chelsea flop – after all, he has two Premier League winner’s medals and an FA Cup on his CV. However, his time in England was hampered by injury and it’s clear the 31-year-old has found his greatest form elsewhere.
Since moving on to the greener pastures of Bayern Munich – via Real Madrid – Robben has excelled, scoring 73 strikes in the Bundesliga, claiming 37 league assists and winning a Champions League medal. He also looks on course to earn his fourth league title with the club.
Franco di Santo
Noticing a trend yet? As a general rule of thumb, if you want to be a future Bundesliga star, sign for Chelsea.
The Blues snapped up Di Santo as a youngster but, after he failed to find the net in eight league appearances, they soon became impatient. The Argentine joined Blackburn and then Wigan Athletic, before eventually settling at Werder Bremen in 2013.
After a slow start in his first season the striker has really found his feet this year, scoring 12 goals in 17 games including this beauty…
Jerome Boateng
We’ll ease up on Chelsea for a moment as we turn to Manchester City reject Jerome Boateng.
City brought Boateng to England for just one season in 2010/11, which saw him make only 16 Premier League appearances.
After struggling to make an impact, the versatile defender was sold to Bayern Munich – which sparked an immediate upturn in his personal fortunes. The 26-year-old has become a mainstay in Pep Guardiola’s first XI and has Champions League and World Cup medals to his name.
Oh, and he scores the occasional wonder-goal too…
And one player who still hasn’t kicked on…
Shinji Kagawa
The Japanese playmaker switched from being the fulcrum of Borussia Dortmund’s attack to ending up a flop at Manchester United…and then back to Dortmund where he has continued to disappoint.
It seems that Kagawa is still getting over the funk of his spell in England as he’s yet to rediscover the form that saw him win back-to-back Bundesliga titles with Dortmund.
In his 20 league appearances this season, the 26-year-old has only found the net twice and provided just three assists – a stark contrast to his performances in 2011/12 when he hit 13 goals and claimed eight assists in 31 Bundesliga games.
It looks like the #FreeShinji campaign at Old Trafford may have overestimated Kagawa’s potential contribution.
