Player Focus: Five Underrated Bundesliga Signings

It's fair to say that Pep Guardiola's take over at Bayern Munich and the way that he is shaping his side is stealing most of the limelight in the Bundesliga, from afar at least. Meanwhile Dortmund are doing their best to keep up with a number of high-profile transfers of their own, but little attention has been shown to the rest of Germany's top flight.

Nevertheless some astute signings have been made, mainly between teams in the division, with a number of clubs able to pick up players for a relative bargain. In this piece we'll focus on five underrated stars that have made moves already this summer, sorted by the estimated valuation of each deal.

Heung-Min Son  (HSV to Bayer Leverkusen)

Following the loss of Andre Schürrle to Chelsea, Leverkusen needed to act fast to find a replacement if they were to emulate their success from an impressive 2012/13 campaign. While Heung-Min Son was no snip at just under £9m the club received twice that much for the German international and have acquired a more than capable alternative.

The 21-year old is able to play across the front line as well as adopting the lone striker role and netted 12 goals for HSV last season. That's one more than Schürrle from 44 fewer shots, making his conversion rate far superior at 15.4% compared to the former fans' favourite (9%). The South Korean makes intelligent runs off the ball and has good feet and pace. Like Schürrle he can cut in well from the flanks to fire off shots but unlike the German he is decent with both feet. The consensus is that Leverkusen have done very good business following the loss of one of their star men.

Timm Klose (Nurnberg to Wolfsburg)

Talented Swiss international centre-back Timm Klose was another player to move for a considerable fee earlier this summer, switching from Nurnberg to Wolfsburg for a fee in the region of £5m. The 25-year old has impressed since making the move from his homeland to Germany in 2011 and certainly adds a physical presence to Dieter Hecking's ranks.

The 6'5" defender is, unsurprisingly, dominant in the air having won 79 aerial duels during his 32 appearances last season. Indeed, of the 63 Bundesliga players to win at least 50 aerial duels last season only seven had a superior aerial success rate to Klose's (71.8%). Interestingly one of those players was future teammate Naldo, so they should forge an intimidating partnership. Elsewhere an average of 2.5 interceptions per game certainly impresses, showing that he can read the game on the deck too, while only 11 Bundesliga players - again including Naldo - bettered his clearance per game average of 5.9.

Daniel Caligiuri (Freiburg to Wolfsburg)

Perhaps an even bigger coup for Wolfsburg, who ended a disappointing campaign in 11th last season, was the acquisition of Freiburg wide man Daniel Caligiuri for just over £2m. The 25-year old operates predominantly on the left flank, cutting onto his favoured right foot, and is a hard working yet tricky winger, despite not being the most creative of outlets.

He runs at opponents extremely often, with only three players completing more dribbles per game in the league last season (3.4) - though his success rate is superior to the league leader Franck Ribery (57.3% to 50.8%) - and he's often targeted in turn. He ranked fourth once again when it came to the most fouled players last season, felled 3.1 times per match on average and is clearly a threat that the opposition look to nullify through force. Nevertheless, he gave as good as he got, with no wide midfielder making more tackles per game last season (3), helping Calgiuri to an exceptional WhoScored rating of 7.53.

Max Kruse (Freiburg to Gladbach)

The fact that we're featuring another departed player from Freiburg here suggests that last season's surprise package could really struggle to maintain such form next season. The 25-year old forward was snapped up in April by a Gladbach side still looking to restore the firepower they lost with the departure of Marco Reus, and Max Kruse is a very impressive addition.

The front man, who can also play on either flank, has a bit of everything. He's good with the ball at his feet - completing an excellent 2.7 dribbles per game - can provide flick-ons and his vision is also impressive. He picked up a team high of 8 league assists from 2.7 key passes per game, which was more than twice that of any other Freiburg player. Meanwhile he netted 11 goals, most of which came via his thunderous left foot (7), with 3 out of a range of impressive strikes coming from outside the box. For just over £2m, you won't find much better value for money in Europe.

Salif Sané (Nancy to Hannover)

Our final focus here, and the only central midfielder selected, is also the first in the list representing an import from a foreign league. Young defensive midfielder Salif Sané has made the move from Nancy to Hannover for an absolute snip at around £1.8m. The giant Senegalese international - younger brother of Bordeaux defender Lamine - stands at just over 6'4" and offers the versatility of being able to drop into the back line.

The 22-year old powerhouse won 4.1 aerial duels per game last season, which was only fewer than his brother, at a superb 76.2% success rate. It's very little surprise that all 3 of his league goals last season came via his head, towering above opponents in set piece situations. The youngster also puts in an excellent defensive shift, averaging 2.4 tackles and 2.6 interceptions per game, but can be a little rash, picking up a costly 11 yellow cards last season. Meanwhile, he made the most passes per game for Nancy last season (47.5). In turn, Sané should prove to be an extremely astute signing for Mirko Slomka's side.