Adeyemi, Mazraoui, Hlozek, Braaf and Kolo Muani: 5 new arrivals to watch in 2022/23
Ahead of the release of the new Bundesliga fixture list for the 2022/23 season, bundesliga.com takes a look at five new arrivals that are set to take your favourite division by storm in the forthcoming campaign.
Karim Adeyemi
Age: 20
Position: Forward
Club: Borussia Dortmund
BVB's busy transfer activity looking ahead to the new season continued with news of the arrival young Germany striking sensation Adeyemi announced last month. A triple Austrian league and cup double winner with Red Bull Salzburg, the 20-year-old is already a full Germany international with a goal and three senior international appearances to his name. The Munich native was once briefly on the books of Bayern Munich but insists he cannot wait to showcase his ability in the Black-and-Yellow of Dortmund in 2022/23. "As a young boy I was fascinated by Dortmund's fast-paced football," he informed his new club's website, adding, "When I learned of Dortmund's interest, I knew straight away that I wanted to join BVB."
A scorer of 22 goals and provider of seven assists in 42 games in all competitions in the recently concluded season, Adeyemi's impressive efforts also helped Salzburg to reach the Champions League Round of 16, where the Austrians ultimately fell to Bayern. Physically strong with a brilliant first touch and a turn of pace that will menace many a defender in the Bundesliga, the 2021 European Under-21 champion with Germany will be keen to bed in with his new teammates who will soon begin their hunt for titles in what looks certain to be an enthralling new campaign.
"In Karim another very exciting player is joining us for the coming season," new BVB sporting director, Sebastian Kehl, said. "He's one who's heart beats for Black-and-Yellow even as a youngster, and who decided to join Dortmund despite having offers from across Europe's top leagues."
Noussair Mazraoui
Age: 24
Position: Full back
Club: Bayern Munich
"I'm happy to be moving to one of the biggest clubs in Europe." So said Bayern's exciting new flying full back, Mazraoui, when the Netherlands-born, Morocco international agreed his move to the record Bundesliga champions from Ajax. A serial winner with the Dutch club, Mazraoui immediately stated his desire to "win the biggest titles" at Bayern when his signing was announced. "Noussair is a player who presses forward a lot down the right side. We also really like his mentality - he's fired up for this challenge at FC Bayern," the Bavarians' sporting director, Hasan Salihamidzic, said of the three time Eredivisie champion and twice Dutch double winner Mazraoui.
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Named Ajax's Talent of the Year during a memorable 2018/19 campaign that saw the Amsterdam outfit go all the way to the Champions League semi-finals, Mazraoui - who joined the club as a seven year old - even came up against his future employers Bayern as part of that run. Expected to feature for Morocco at the forthcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Mazraoui will look to settle into his new surroundings as quickly as possible. "We've set ourselves big goals again for the new season and players like Noussair Mazraoui expand our options," Bayern's CEO Oliver Kahn said.
Jayden Braaf
Age: 19
Position: Winger
Club: Borussia Dortmund
An attacking force with mesmerising skills and capable of scoring jaw-dropping goals, Dortmund's new Dutch winger Braaf will fit right in to the Bundesliga. Arriving at the Signal Iduna Park on a three-year deal from Manchester City, the 19-year-old Netherlands youth international is looking to pick up where he left off in terms of his exciting development. Quick, powerful and with a level of close control that has to be seen to be believed, Braaf represents a mouth-watering asset for new BVB coach Edin Terzic as Die Schwarzgelben look to rein in defending champions Bayern Munich.
"[He's] a real handful for opposition full-backs when we can give him the ball and he's got space to go and run at them," ex Man City U23 coach Paul Harsley explained of the Amsterdam-born talent. Premier League-winning coach, Pep Guardiola, agreed that Braaf was a player with "incredible skills", while Dortmund's sporting director Sebastian Kehl said that the Black-and-Yellows' new acquisition was "a difference-maker with his pace and talent." With that sort of praise, how can Bundesliga fans not be excited about the prospect of seeing Jayden Braaf in action?
Adam Hlozek
Age: 19
Position: Forward
Club: Bayer Leverkusen
Last season's third-highest goalscorers in the division have added young Czech jewel Adam Hlozek to their talent-bursting ranks for the new season. Already blessed with the likes of the fabulous Florian Wirtz and deadly Moussa Diaby, Die Werkself have brought in potent goal getter Patrik Schick's international teammate to build an attack that is worthy of PlayStation greatness. Hlozek may be just 19, but he has been busy banging in the goals and racking up the assists for four seasons at previous club Start Prague and he'll be hoping to continue doing so at his new club once the ball starts rolling in the 2022/23 campaign.
His 40 goals and 36 assists in 132 games for Sparta have rightly brought the accolades, with the versatile attacker named Czech Young Player of the Year in 2019. Able to play on either side of a front line or as a second striker, Hlozek has pace, strength and a powerful finish, while his ability to hold up play and unselfish nature makes him a highly valuable all-round acquisition up front. "Being a part of this team fills me with great hope and expectation," the senior Czech international - capped 15 times to date - said on joining Leverkusen. "His versatility, his power and, above all, his finishing will give our attack more variation," the club's sporting director, Simon Rolfes, added.
Randal Kolo Muani
Age: 23
Position: Forward
Club: Eintracht Frankfurt
The UEFA Europa League winners have bolstered their squad ahead of new Bundesliga and Champions League campaigns with the highly versatile French forward Kolo Muani. The 23-year-old burst onto the international scene back in 2021 when he put on a gargantuan display to turn a game against giants Paris Saint-Germain on its head. The 6'2'' attacker put the footballing world on notice when he scored an equalising goal and then provided an assist for the match winner at the Parc des Princes. Kolo Muani is quick both in terms of motoring forward and making split-second decisions that can open up opposition defences.
His former coach at Nantes, Christian Gourcuff, also hailed the ex-France Under-21 international's ability in the air. “He has very good timing in terms of headers," Gourcuff noted. "He has a phenomenal leap, good movement, is smart and fast. Technically, he has a wide-range of abilities," the former midfielder added. A French Cup winner with Les Canaris last season, Kolo Muani also participated at the 2021 summer Olympic Games, scoring once in four appearances for France. He has been described in many quarters as "the complete attacker" and will be a fascinating addition to Die Adler and the Bundesliga.
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