Jadon Sancho, Denzeil Boadu, Ryan Kent… the list of young, English Premier League stars heading to the Bundesliga keeps on growing… but what’s the appeal?
Five budding British talents have already swapped England for Germany this summer and it's easy to see why they have
THIS summer has seen a new fad sweep Premier League youngsters... swapping the English top-flight for the Bundesliga.
On Sunday, Manchester City youngster Denzeil Boadu, 20, became the FIFTH confirmed player to head to Germany during the most recent window alone.
Boadu followed fellow ex-Manchester City man Jadon Sancho, 17, to Dortmund - after he completed a £9million move to Germany earlier this summer.
Meanwhile, Reece Oxford swapped East London for Germany, when he moved to Borussia Monchengladbach on a season-long loan deal.
Talented Liverpool winger Ryan Kent, 20, also booked plane tickets to Europe, after he linked up with Bundesliga side Freiburg for the season on loan.
Finally, ex-Arsenal star Kaylen Hinds, 19, moved to Wolfsburg - run by another ex-Gunner Andries Jonker - in a £2m permanent deal.
But what is the deal with the current fad?
Perhaps the success of the youth system in Germany was the biggest lure... after all, they've made monumental strikes in the past two decades.
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Following the Germans' embarrassing Euro 2000 campaign - coming bottom of Group A, behind Portugal, Romania and England - the nation promised to get to the bottom of things.
Years investing in the youth systems across the league bore fruit... quickly.
The creation of academies at every team across the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 led to a new generation of world-beaters.
Julian Draxler, Andre Schurrle, Thomas Muller, Mats Hummels, Mesut Ozil, Ilkay Gundogan, Mario Gotze, Marco Reus, Toni Kroos are just a few success stories from Germany.
With the interest in German league football only improving and the youth systems going from strength to strength, the real question shouldn't be, "Why are players heading to Germany?"
...It should be, "Why doesn't England learn from Germany's incredible success?"