Maximilian Eggestein's performances for Werder Bremen in 2018/19 have been drawing some favourable comparisons with Germany midfielder Toni Kroos - and with good reason. bundesliga.com introduces the player seen as the future of German football...

Maximilian Eggestein

Age: 21
Position: Midfield
Club: Werder Bremen
Country: Germany (nine U21 caps)

Key stats

Still only 22, Eggestein made his Bundesliga debut back in 2014 as a late substitute against Paderborn, but it wasn’t until the second half of the 2016/17 campaign that he finally made his breakthrough and settled into a defensive midfield position.

With the arrival of head coach Florian Kohfeldt midway through 2017/18, however, Eggestein shifted into a freer central midfielder role with Philipp Bargfrede assuming the more defensive duties. Eggestein, a Bremen youth academy graduate, has since started every match under Kohfeldt and has added goalscoring to his impressive arsenal in 2018/19, with five goals so far - more than any of his teammates and including a league-high three from outside the box. That total is already more than his his previous four Bundesliga seasons combined, and included a maiden brace against Schalke.

Plays a bit like: Toni Kroos

A key member of the Germany U21’s EURO 2019 qualification, Eggestein is already being touted as a future member of the senior squad and a possible replacement for World Cup winner Kroos. Like the former Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen midfielder, Eggestein has moved into a less attacking role as he’s progressed, while he also keen eye for a pass, finding a teammate over 75 per cent of the time in the Bundesliga this season. Nevertheless, Eggestein is also eager to get forward and play his part in the final stage of the attack, taking 13 shots in his first eight games of 2018/19.

Did you know?

The son of former professional footballer Karl Eggestein, who played in Bundesliga 2 for TSV Havelse in 1990/91, Max’s younger brother Johannes also plays for Werder as a striker.

About the players

8

Maximilian

Eggestein

SC Freiburg

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What they're saying

"I’m really pleased he’s scoring goals from distance. I told him he needed to shoot more because he has a really good shot.” – Werder teammate Claudio Pizarro on Eggestein’s improved goalscoring

“We appreciate his versatility. He pairs tactical discipline with a good instinct for space and the opponent’s runs, so he knows when he can leave his position.” – Germany U21 coach Stefan Kuntz

About the clubs

SV Werder Bremen

Weser-Stadion