American players in the Bundesliga: weekly overview

No fewer than six Americans that have started a game in the Bundesliga this season have also scored, with Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, John Brooks, Fabian Johnson, Bobby Wood and Alfredo Morales all on target just seven games into the 2018/19 campaign.

Join bundesliga.com for a star-spangled overview of how the U.S. soccer stars are faring in Germany’s top division, week on week.

Christian Pulisic

Club: Borussia Dortmund
Age: 20
Position: Winger/Attacking midfielder

Pulisic has been central to Borussia Dortmund’s climb to the top of the Bundesliga table heading into the second international break of the season. The Hershey, Pennsylvania native has started four of BVB’s seven league games, finding the equaliser in the Matchday 4 draw at Hoffenheim as well as laying on the first of seven goals scored against Nuremberg a week later. A calf injury ruled Pulisic out of Dortmund’s 4-3 win against Augsburg last time out, and he has stayed at home for the USMNT’s upcoming friendlies against Colombia and Peru in order to recover.

Watch: Pulisic secures a draw for BVB against Hoffenheim on MD4

Weston McKennie

Club: Schalke
Age: 20
Position: Central midfielder

Schalke may not have enjoyed the same fine start to the season as their Revierderby rivals, but that hasn’t stopped McKennie hitting a rich vein of goalscoring form. Nominally a defensive midfielder who has also helped out at centre-back on occasion, the Texas-born battler followed up on his maiden UEFA Champions League goal against Lokomotiv Moscow last Wednesday with his second strike in as many games, opening the scoring in Schalke’s 2-0 win at Fortuna Düsselforf last Saturday.

Weston McKennie (r.) scored his first Bundesliga goal against Fortuna Düsseldorf on Matchday 7. © gettyimages / Dean Mouhtaropoulos

John Brooks

Club: Wolfsburg
Age: 25
Position: Centre-back

After an injury-curtailed first season at Wolfsburg, Brooks has looked like a player reborn in 2018/19. The 6’4”-tall centre-back has played all 630 minutes of the Wolves’ Bundesliga campaign so far. On the wrong end of a 2-0 defeat to Werder Bremen last time out, Brooks has nonetheless won 76 percent of his aerial duels, and even has a goal and an assist to his name.

John Brooks has dominated in both boxes with Wolfsburg this season. © imago / Matthias Koch

Bobby Wood

Club: Hannover
Age: 25
Position: Striker

Wood made the brave move from Hamburg to their northern rivals Hannover in the summer. After initially struggling to displace last season’s top scorer at the HDI Arena, Niclas Füllkrug, Wood was given the nod in a front pairing against VfB Stuttgart last time out. He scored twice in a 3-1 win, bringing his all-time Bundesliga tally to nine with his first two headed goals ever.

Watch: Bobby Wood at the double as Hannover down Stuttgart

Josh Sargent

Club: Werder Bremen
Age: 18
Position: Striker

Sargent is yet to make his debut for Werder Bremen’s first-team, but according to sporting director Thomas Schaaf “it’s simply a matter of time”. Six goals in 10 games for Bremen’s U23s go some way to explaining the club’s faith in the youngster, and he is in the latest USMNT squad with a chance to build upon his three international outings to date.

Josh Sargent is on the cusp of his full Werder Bremen debut after starring with the U23s. © imago / Jan Huebner

Fabian Johnson

Club: Borussia Mönchengladbach
Age: 30
Position: Wide midfielder/Full-back

Johnson sat out of Borussia Mönchengladbach’s incredible 3-0 win over champions Bayern Munich last Saturday, but the Munich-born wide man has nonetheless been central to the Foals’ gallop to the upper echelons of the table, scoring in the opening-day 2-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen and featuring in five of Gladbach’s seven games to date.

Mr. Versatile Fabian Johnson continues to star in his fifth season with Borussia Mönchengladbach. © imago / DeFodi

Alfredo Morales

Club: Fortuna Düsseldorf
Age: 28
Position: Defensive midfielder

Morales hasn’t featured since a run out at defensive midfield under Jürgen Klinsmann in May 2016, but he’s been repurposed in a more advanced role in this, Fortuna’s first season back in the top flight since 2013. The move has reaped its rewards too – Morales was on target in the 2-1 win over Hoffenheim on Matchday 3 and could be forgiven for expecting a return to the international set-up.

“Surely I deserve another chance with the USMNT?” – Aflredo Morales has enjoyed a new lease of life at Fortuna Düsseldorf. © gettyimages / Alex Grimm

Timothy Chandler

Club: Eintracht Frankfurt
Age: 28
Position: Right-back

Surgery to Chandler’s right knee in August means that Eintracht Frankfurt will be without Chandler for the next six months. His return will be a welcome one: last season he scored twice and provided four assists despite playing on his less-favoured left-hand side.