Harry Kane: English footballers to impress in Germany

Only a handful of the small group which has gone to Germany have been truly successful but the England captain will be looking to add his name to that list.

Here the PA news agency looks at those who impressed for Bundesliga sides.

Kevin Keegan, Hamburg 1977-80

Keegan set the gold standard. Having made his intention to leave Liverpool clear the forward’s £500,000 transfer set a new British record and almost doubled the German mark.

His choice of a club which had not finished higher than sixth in two decades was something of a surprise but Hamburg paid him more than five times his salary.

There were rewarded though as Keegan helped them win the title in his second season and reach the European Cup final in the next, winning two European footballer of the year awards.

Tony Woodcock (Cologne 1979-82, 1986-88; Fortuna Cologne 1988-90)

After being part of the side which won Nottingham Forest’s first European Cup in 1979 Woodcock moved to Cologne for £600,000 after taking advice from Keegan despite interest from Manchester United.

He scored 34 goals in just over 100 appearances before returning to England with Arsenal in 1982.

Woodcock returned to Cologne four years later before retiring after a brief spell at Fortuna.

Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich 200-07)

Born in Canada to British parents, Hargreaves moved to Bayern from Calgary Foothills as a 16-year-old.

He made his first-team debut in 2000 and went on to make over 200 appearances, winning four Bundesliga titles, the Champions League and three German Cups before moving to Manchester United.

Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund 2017-21)

Sancho left Manchester City for Dortmund as a 17-year-old for an £8m fee.
He won the German Cup and Supercup and, aged 18 years and 336 days, broke Lukas Podolski’s record for the youngest player to score nine Bundesliga goals.

He made 136 appearances, scoring 49 goals before returning to England to join Manchester United.

Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund 2020-23)

Bellingham became the most expensive 17-year-old in history when he moved from Birmingham for an initial £25m.

His form in Germany earned him a senior England call up in 2020 when he became the third-youngest England international after Theo Walcott and Wayne Rooney.

Consistency at club level and stand-out performances at the 2021 World Cup helped him secure an £88m move to Real Madrid this summer.