Paul-Georges Ntep, Guido Burgstaller and Thomas Delaney (l-r.) all enjoyed promising debuts on Matchday 17. - © © imago
Paul-Georges Ntep, Guido Burgstaller and Thomas Delaney (l-r.) all enjoyed promising debuts on Matchday 17. - © © imago

Ntep, Burgstaller and Delaney: Matchday 17's top three debutants

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Making your Bundesliga debut midway into a season can be a daunting prospect, but on the evidence of their Matchday 17 performances, the future looks bright for Paul-Georges Ntep, Guido Burgstaller and Thomas Delaney.

Paul-Georges Ntep, VfL Wolfsburg

How did your Official Fantasy Bundesliga XI perform on Matchday 17? And have you signed these three up?!

Signed in the transfer window from French side Stade Rennais FC, Ntep endeared himself to the Wolfsburg faithful with an eye-catching debut that showed exactly why coach Valerien Ismael was so keen to bring him to the club. The 24-year-old's direct style was precisely what was needed against ten-man Hamburger SV's massed defensive ranks, and it was his bursting run that created Mario Gomez's winner to make it three wins in a row for the Wolves.

Watch: Ntep was left awestruck by the atmosphere against Hamburg:

Guido Burgstaller, FC Schalke 04

A prolific scorer for 1. FC Nürnberg in Bundesliga 2 before joining Schalke, Burgstaller wasted no time in showing that he can make the leap to Germany's top flight. Sent on as a substitute against Ingolstadt, the 27-year-old emerged as the hero of the hour to score an injury-time winner and instantly begin to repay the faith shown by the club in signing him. Already something of a hero to the fans – whose affection can take a player a long way in Gelsenkirchen – Burgstaller can look forward with relish to the rest of the season, particularly since a raft of injuries to his fellow strikers means he will likely be starting games before too long.

Burgstaller scored 34 goals in 70 matches for Bundesliga 2 side Nürnberg, including 14 in the first half of this season. - © gettyimages / Lars Baron

Thomas Delaney, SV Werder Bremen

Delaney may have been on the losing side on his debut, but Bremen fans can be highly optimistic about his impact if he continues to deliver performances such as that against Borussia Dortmund. The Denmark international made more tackles (13) and had more touches (68) than any Werder player, and though he made mistakes in possession, his appetite to make up for his errors pleased his coach no end. "I thought it was a very good debut. He showed that he knows what it means to play in the Bundesliga," said an impressed Alexander Nouri.

Delaney (r.) put in an all-action performance in Bremen's narrow loss to Dortmund. - © imago / DeFodi

Click here to read the top five talking points from the Matchday 17 action.