The Bundesliga has been a very fun league to follow so far this season, despite FC Bayern already running away with the title race.
We have seen a lot happening so far: coaching changes after just two matchdays, a historic start to the season by Harry Kane, a very tight midfield battle, and multiple teams battling for qualification to the UEFA Champions League.
In this article, I would like to shift the narrative a bit and not look at the obvious and big stories, but rather highlight three players who have played a very good season so far, but have not gotten the media coverage they deserve.
Leopold Querfeld is a young centre-back for Union Berlin who has surprised everyone this season by being one of the league’s best pure defenders.
Wouter Burger has joined TSG Hoffenheim from Stoke City in the Championship and instantly made the transition from second-tier relegation battle to being one of the best midfielders in the Bundesliga.
Christoph Baumgartner is in his third season after an expensive transfer from Hoffenheim to RB Leipzig.
While his first two seasons were somewhat disappointing, the attacking midfielder has taken the Bundesliga by storm in the first 15 games of the season.
So, in this Bundesliga player analysis and scout report, we will take a look at these three players: what abilities make them special, how they help their team win games, and what to expect from them in the second half of the season.
Leopold Querfeld Scout Report 2025/2026: Aerial Dominance
We are going to start at the back and move forward from there; therefore, Leopold Querfeld will be the first player we will take an in-depth look at in this piece.
The Austrian centre-back is playing his second season in the Bundesliga after joining Union Berlin from his boyhood club Rapid Wien in the summer of 2024 for a measly €3m, and now has really found his stride this season.
Querfeld has played every single minute possible so far this season and has been the backbone of a very decent Union defence under Steffen Baumgart.
What separates Querfeld most from his peers is his strength and aerial ability.
The 22-year-old is incredibly robust in every single duel he takes; he uses his body well, is very obnoxious to play against, wins pretty much every infight, and, in general, can be described as a very traditional centre-back.
His aerial ability is a genuine weapon, and we will take a look at it now.
In this situation, the opposing goalkeeper was forced into a long ball, which is the main objective for Union when pressing high.
Querfeld quickly realises the situation and steps up, following the striker into the area where the ball will come down.
Now, he instantly forces contact with the striker, pushing forward, actively wrapping his hands around the striker’s hips, restricting movement right in the grey area between legal and a foul.
Querfeld then gets up much earlier than the striker, putting his weight on his shoulders, already preventing him from winning the header.
The young Austrian is blessed with a very good jumping reach and has elite stability when in the air, so, as we can see in the picture, he just gets up and heads the ball away.
He pretty much just jumps over the opposing player, showing off his elite ability in the air.
After winning the aerial, he quickly drops back into the backline, closing off the space he opened up for the aerial duel.
Playing long balls against Union rarely ends in success, and Querfeld, who ranks in the 88th percentile for aerials won in the Bundesliga, with 70% aerial duel success, is the main reason.
Querfeld also uses this ability to help his team defend in the box.
In the picture above, Union are expecting a cross after RB Leipzig won a second ball after a set-piece.
Instead of instantly following the ball, Querfeld quickly scans the areas around him, looking for players behind him he might need to cover.
Querfeld then quickly takes his assignment and covers the player in front of him.
He quickly establishes contact again, refusing to let the attacker run past him, and then pushes him off just a little when the cross is played to prevent him from reaching the ball.
The ball is played towards the far post, and thanks to his quick scan earlier, he knows that one more Leipzig player is behind him.
Querfeld drops back towards the far post with good footwork and, once again, gets up and just jumps higher than anyone else in the area.
His teammate was losing the fight in the box, and it would have been a huge opportunity for Leipzig, but Querfeld heads the ball and clears it away.
Querfeld’s ability on the ball is subpar, but Baumgart is not asking his centre-backs to do a lot on the ball anyway.
Querfeld is a very old-fashioned centre-back, and you won’t find many better pure defenders than him in modern football.
His strength and aerial ability allow him to defend his box very well, and in the end, this is what you want your defenders to do.
I personally believe that he lacks the talent to actually play for an elite team, but with his playstyle, he would be a perfect fit for any Premier League midtable team.
Wouter Burger Scout Report 2025/2026: A True Box-To-Box player
For the second player, we are going to jump forward into central midfield and look at Wouter Burger, one of the best signings made by any Bundesliga club this summer.
The Dutch midfielder joined Hoffenheim from Stoke City, where he played for two years, but because of the club’s relatively poor results in that timeframe, he flew under the radar, it seems.
Burger is a box-to-box midfielder; he is found everywhere on the pitch and excels in many different areas.
His work ethic is elite; he covers a lot of ground and space, making him a decent defender against the ball.
His 2.4 tackles per 90 rank in the 90th percentile amongst midfielders in the Bundesliga.
Thanks to his 1.91m height, he is also able to win many aerial duels, ranking in the top 6% of midfielders in aerial duels won per game.
On the ball, Burger can be a huge asset to Hoffenheim as well.
Here we can see him on a counterattack, something Hoffenheim has done really well ever since Christian Ilzer took over the team.
Burger receives the ball in the centre on the counter, already scanning the field around him.
He quickly realises he is in acres of space and opens up his stance to put the ball onto his strong left foot.
From then on, Burger just threads the pass through the remaining pieces of the backline and assists on the third Hoffenheim goal of the game.
While Burger completes only around 73% of his passes, he ranks in the top 25% in progressive passes per 90, showing that he might not be very secure on the ball, but he can definitely play the ball forward out of midfield.
With 0.25 xAG per 90, Burger ranks in the 97th percentile for expected Assists, and his five assists in 14 games also show his quality as a playmaker.
While he is not very secure on the ball, he provides a lot of value off the ball as well.
His work rate isn’t just elite against the ball; he is also outstanding in possession, especially in terms of his intensity and runs, which opposing defences have to account for.
Here, Hoffenheim plays through their left-winger, and Burger is already in a very advanced position.
With his run, he opens up the passing lane to the striker by pressuring the backline to fall back, allowing his teammate to play a diagonal pass.
From there on, Hoffenheim switches play to the right side into an isolated 1-v-1 situation.
Burger is now on the far-sided wing, but still stays in the situation, instantly moving towards the centre again and making a run into the box.
Burger isn’t just a box-to-box midfielder; he is also incredibly dangerous in the opposing team’s box.
In the end, the right-back shoots out of his dribble, and the goalkeeper saves the ball, but it bounces into the box.
Burger reacts quickly and finishes off the opportunity.
With three goals scored and 0.13 NPxG per 90, Burger ranks in the 83rd percentile of both stats in the Bundesliga.
Wouter Burger was good at Stoke, but he currently might be the best central midfielder in a box-to-box role in the Bundesliga.
It was fantastic work by Hoffenheim this summer to get him for just about €4m.
Christoph Baumgartner Scout Report 2025/2026: A Breakthrough At Last
For the last player highlighted in this piece, we are staying in central midfield and considering a Bundesliga veteran, Christoph Baumgartner.
Baumgartner made his breakthrough in the Bundesliga with Hoffenheim as a young player, playing as an attacking midfielder, and then transferred to RB Leipzig for about €25m.
His first two seasons haven’t been bad, but given the price tag, Baumgartner hasn’t met expectations and has been more of a rotational player than a star.
This season, under new manager Ole Werner, things quickly changed.
Baumgartner now plays as the left central midfielder in a 4-3-3 formation and is the most attacking player out of the three midfielders.
He currently has six goals and six assists in the Bundesliga, has scored four more in the DFB-Pokal, and is Leipzig’s most important attacking player.
With the ball, Baumgartner has a lot of freedom.
He often positions himself very high up the pitch and in the final third, and he likes to go into the box and play as a second striker.
His movement in the box is very good; he avoids physical duels and finds himself in open space most of the time.
Baumgartner likes to play lay-offs and often tries to drop out of his striker position and play quick one-twos with his midfielders in wingers.
In this situation, he moves well in the shadow of his teammate, but Ridle Baku intercepts the pass targeted towards Baumgartner and switches play for RB Leipzig.
Baumgartner instantly repositions himself in the box and goes close to Romulo, then the two strikers make alternating runs targeted at the space between the centre-backs.
In the end, Antonio Nusa lobs the ball towards the second post.
Baumgartner makes a perfectly timed run and finds himself in the space between the two centre-backs, avoiding a direct aerial duel, but rather is wide open and scores in this situation.
He currently is the benchmark amongst midfielders for NPxG per 90 and ranks in the 96th percentile for non-penalty goals, so it’s safe to say that Baumgartner is the biggest threat out of midfield so far this season in the Bundesliga.
Baumgartner has another huge strength: he is elite on the counterattack, and that is a perfect fit for the DNA of a Red Bull team.
In the picture above, we can see a situation where he receives the ball behind the midfield.
Baumgartner perfectly positioned himself between the lines to receive a ball through the gap between the two opposing players, allowing him to make a run into the opposing half.
He carries the ball forward and dribbles right at the last remaining defender, then moves to the outside a little bit.
This forces the defender to move out of the centre and gives Baumgartner’s teammate more space.
The Austrian midfielder then plays a pass with the outside of his foot towards his teammate, who finishes off the attack.
He is not just a goalscoring threat; Baumgartner ranks in the 96th percentile for assists and in the 76th percentile for expected assists.
He is just dangerous all around.
After two seasons of failed expectations, Christoph Baumgartner finally arrived in Leipzig and is having a stellar first half of the season.
Conclusion
In the end, there are many players I could have mentioned in this article; making the cut was rather hard, but the three players highlighted just played absolutely amazing seasons and therefore deserved the spotlight.
Leopold Querfeld might have problems on the ball, but his aerial ability is a perfect fit for Union Berlin, and he is not just good defensively; his headers are a threat for attacking set-pieces as well.
Wouter Burger has made the jump from Stoke City to the Bundesliga and instantly made an impact for Hoffenheim in the chase for European football.
The Dutch midfielder has an elite work rate and intensity, making him one of Ilzer’s most important players.
Christoph Baumgartner has been rather disappointing in his first two years in Leipzig, but he has now finally found his perfect role under Ole Werner.
While he might not be very secure on the ball, the Austrian international is a threat at all times, making him one of the best attacking midfielders in the Bundesliga so far this season.
In the end, all three are key players in the Bundesliga this term, and I think they won’t slow down after the break.
