Bayern are romping to their 24th title, so there's no point in watching the Bundesliga, right? No other players or teams outside of the non existent title race to mildly entertain?
Sadly, there are people who do have those beliefs, but as the lovers of the Germany's 51-year-old league would know, It possesses some of the most fascinating teams and players in Europe, and FC Augsburg's André Hahn is no exception.
Hahn's rise through football is one I admire and love being a fan of a Football League club. Currently enjoying FC Augsburg's challenge to grasp hold of a Europa League position before the season's end under the fantastic management of Markus Weinzierl, but the German winger hasn't always had the enjoyment of taking on the likes of Marco Reus and Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Born in Ottendorf, he began with his local youth side but joined Hamburg as a 17 year old, making 38 appearances over 2 years with their second side before dropping to the lower divisions of Germany's football. As of until January 2013, he was playing with then 3. Liga side Kickens Offenbach (equivalent to League One, in England) then joining Weinzierl's side for a mere €250,000. He made 12 appearances between then and the rest of the campaign with 3 assists to his name, but this season, he and his outstanding Augsburg team have been phenomenal to say the least, considering they barely avoided the drop to the 2. Bundesliga last season.
I began to take notice of Hahn's impressive work in Mönchengladbach's 2-2 draw at the SGL Arena earlier this season, constantly troubling Borussia's defence and putting Augsburg in front. He's put in important contributions to big matches such as the draw at Borussia Dortmund, two delightful crosses from the 23 year old earning him his only two assists, though with no real prolific strikers available to convert his chances created, that' s understandable. Hahn also had 9 goals to his name, quite a lot for a winger, so what's his style?
Standing at 6 feet 2 inches, Hahn's quick, powerful, has pin point crossing and one of his main attributes-cutting inside and trying to fire past the opposition keeper. It's a system that's worked well for the player and his club, Daniel Baier has been one of the performers of the season in front of the defence, which allows the full back Matthias Ostrzolek to get forward, the Pole taking full advantage of that opportunity, he pushes himself up the pitch allowing Baier to drop back and cover him, letting Ostrzolek to contribute 7 assists. As well as the danger the main man Hahn possesses, this makes Augsburg extremely difficult to play against. Hahn being their best offensive player is key to their play, without him they simply would not be where they are, taking nothing away from Markus Weinzierl developing Hahn and making him one of the brightest prospects of the season.
The biggest disappointment for the fans of FC Augsburg, as it happens with a lot of Bundesliga players, is the absurdly small release clause his Andre Hahn's contract- €2.25m to be precise. Even the footballer's market site, transfermarkt, value him at €5m. It is a constant source of irritation amongst fans, for example SC Freiburg lost Max Kruse for €2.5m and Bayer Leverkusen will lose star winger Sidney Sam to rivals FC Schalke 04 for the same price. In an interview by the Augsburger Allgemeine, the father and agent of Hahn declared: "I don't want to name any names, but we know that many clubs are interested in my son. At the moment he is focused on Augsburg, and he would like to keep on playing for this team, but we also have to consider the financial aspect".
So, who will be looking to capture the young German talent in the summer?
An obvious choice for me. Lose one fantastic wide player on the cheap, recruit one for a small yet bargain fee. Losing Sidney Sam will, or at could be, disastrous in their building for the future for Bayer Leverkusen, the 25 -year-old being one of their biggest players, and such a terrifying player to have to defend against, Schalke have pulled off a coup by the signing. Hahn may not be an exact replica of Sam but he is 2 years his junior, and could learn plenty from the likes of Rudi Völler and Sami Hyypia in management. Völler being a famous striker himself would have a trick or two up his sleeve in how to beat a defender, and Hyypia could advise Hahn what ways strikers beat him in his playing days, and ways he could emulate that. He would have much better strikers to delivery to in Stefan Kiessling and Heung Min-Son, and if Bayer keep Lars Bender they would have a formidable midfield.
One of the two sides being strongly linked with Hahn in the German newspaper BILD. Gladbach's current right winger, Patrick Herrmann, has undeniable talent but his poor decision making at times and his inconsistency can cause a headache to Lucien Favre, or at least to me! On the left hand side, where Hahn can also play, there's Juan Arango, who now is undoubtedly a Borussia legend, but I feel he is now past playing his olden quality football for the team, approaching 34 years old and isn't likely to secure a new contract at the end of the season. Hahn would fit into the team on the either side, as I've mentioned before he likes to cut inside, work with his midfielders or beat his marker and fire past the keeper, something that suits Die Fohlen's play. Versatility I feel is a massive aspect in attributes of a wonderful footballer and I believe both Hahn and current 'Gladbach forward Max Kruse possess that trait. I was discussing the possibility of Hahn to BMG with a fan and he mentioned how Kruse was playing in an attacking midfield role for former club SC Freiburg. We talked about the possibility of Hahn occupying Kruse's role in the team and Kruse moving into more of a midfield position if Herrmann was to stay, or if another left winger was signed. Definitely quite a possibility, It would be a good move for Mönchengladbach and for Hahn's development.
The final option, and the other team being mentioned in the BILD rumour mill in the race for Hahn.
BVB manager Jürgen Klopp has many specialist characteristics in his management, and one of them is his persuasive tongue in signing players just under the nose from everyone else, or in fact players that wouldn't have been talked about before moves to the Westfalenstadion (I like the original name) for example Robert Lewandowski from Lech Poznan, Marco Reus from Borussia Mönchengladbach and Neven Subotic from Klopp's former club, Mainz 05. Although I couldn't see
Hahn getting a starting berth, having to compete with Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and Jakub Błaszczykowski (yes, I most certainly had to copy and paste that name!) , Klopp could convince Hahn he could work hard and try to break through into the first team, or train hard and bide his time. The move to Dortmund would be massively beneficial to their squad depth, as we've seen this season how injuries have crippled and ruined their title challenge, but I'm unsure whether It would be right for Hahn, at 23 he needs to continue playing at a consistent basis, something Leverkusen and 'Gladbach could give him. Maybe a move to last season's runners up in three, four years? Who knows. But now would not be the right time, in my opinion anyway.
What is bound to happen is his departure from Augsburg. Due to the release clause, this is really out of the club's hands. Where next for André Hahn?