British players in the Bundesliga in 2019-20: Sancho, Ampadu & full list of UK footballers in Germany

In the past, the sight of a professional British footballer gracing pitches beyond the borders of the United Kingdom was a rare thing.

But a trend has developed in recent years whereby young footballers are leaving the UK in search of first-team opportunities, with Germany becoming a particularly popular destination.

While there were a few outliers such as Kevin Keegan, Paul Lambert and Mark Hughes in years gone by, the Bundesliga was never a massively attractive league for players coming from England, Scotland or Wales.

However, it is now transforming into fertile ground for young pretenders from Britain to cultivate their abilities outside of the usual, prosaic surroundings.

Ahead of the 2019-20 season, Goal takes a look at the British footballers who are plying their trade in Germany.

British players in 2019-20 Bundesliga

Rising Borussia Dortmund star Jadon Sancho is undoubtedly the most impressive of the British players who will be found in the Bundesliga this season.

The 19-year-old joined Dortmund in 2017 from Manchester City and has gone from strength to strength since arriving at Westfalenstadion, scoring 12 goals in 34 league appearances last term.

His impressive displays in the yellow jersey earned him international recognition, not to mention the 2019 NxGn award.

Sancho’s near-instant success has been used as a beacon for other players and he will be joined by plenty of his compatriots, who hope to emulate him, in 2019-20.

Chelsea have sent two of their prospects – Ethan Ampadu and Lewis Baker – to Germany to get first-team action this season.

Ampadu, who has already been capped on a number of occasions by Wales at senior level, will be aiming to break into the RB Leipzig team, while Baker will spend his loan at Fortuna Dusseldorf.

England youth international Reece Oxford has already spent time in Germany on loan at Borussia Monchengladbach and Augsburg, but this season he made a permanent switch to Augsburg on a four-year deal.

Former Everton youth Ademola Lookman enjoyed his loan spell at RB Leipzig so much last season that he signed  a permanent deal with them this summer.

Lookman will come up against his former team-mate Jonjoe Kenny this season after the full-back joined Schalke on a season-long loan and, who knows, perhaps Kenny will follow his peer to mainland Europe.

Kenny won’t be the only Brit at Schalke either, with Wales international Rabbi Matondo – another ex-Manchester City youth player – also on the books of the Gelsenkirchen outfit.

Keanan Bennetts joined Borussia Monchengladbach from Tottenham last season and, having bedded in with games in the Regionalliga, he’ll be hoping to break into the first team in 2019-20.

Bennetts was one of two English players in the Gladbach squad last season, joining former Crystal Palace youth Mandela Egbo. He is now the only one after Egbo signed for 2. Bundesliga side Darmstadt.

Other examples of British players in the Bundesliga

A number of other British players have played in the Bundesliga in the past few seasons, but mostly on short-term loan deals.

Arsenal youngster Reiss Nelson has returned to north London looking for first-team opportunities this season having impressed for Hoffenheim in the 2018-19 campaign.

Another Gunner, Emile Smith Rowe, was playing for RB Leipzig at the same time, but endured persistent injury frustration.

Liverpool forward Ryan Kent spent the first half of the 2017-18 season on loan at Freiburg, while Scotland international Oliver Burke joined RB Leipzig from Nottingham Forest in 2016 before signing for West Brom.

Before the recent upsurge of British exports to Germany, ex-Chelsea youth Michael Mancienne was quietly going about his business with Hamburg, where he spent three seasons from 2011 until 2014.

Of course, prior to Mancienne, Owen Hargreaves was the player people thought of when they imagined British stars in Germany.

The Canada-born midfielder was a stalwart for Bayern Munich for seven seasons, having come through the ranks, before joining Manchester United in 2007.