Who is the shooting star of Bundesliga 2?
There are so many exciting prospects in Bundesliga 2 this season, including a 16-year-old, a super scorer and a goalkeeping jewel! Who do you believe is the shooting star of Germany's second division?
Vote now exclusively on the Bundesliga app to choose your favourite and help them take the crown as Bundesliga 2's shooting star of 2025/26.
The 23-year-old joined from third-tier Alemannia Aachen in the summer and has become a key part of Schalke's promotion push in next to no time. El-Faouzi has started all of their Bundesliga 2 matches and has claimed three assists already. The midfield dynamo is also one of the busiest players in Bundesliga 2 when it comes to challenges and distance covered.
Younes Ebnoutalib (Elversberg)
Just a year ago, Ebnoutalib was plying his trade in the Southwest Regionalliga but moved in January 2025 from Gießen to Elversberg and needed next to no time to settle in the second half of last season. Since the summer, the 22-year-old has taken the next step in his progression to become a regular and after 12 matchdays is the joint top scorer of Bundesliga 2 with nine strikes.
The Finn is the oldest player to make the shortlist, aged 27. Källman joined Hannover in the summer from the Polish league and saw off great internal competition to nail down a regular starting spot at the promotion hopefuls, whose bid for the Bundesliga has been aided by six goals from Källman already.
Kennet Eichhorn (Hertha Berlin)
Talk about a young gun - Eichhorn made his debut on Matchday 2 at just 16 years and 14 days old to become the youngest player in Bundesliga 2 history. Just a few weeks later, he has become a permanent part of the starting line-up, starting seven of Hertha's last eight games up to Matchday 12 and displaying a cleverness to his play well beyond his years.
Onyeka, on loan from Bayer Leverkusen, had a sensational run in both international and club football in October, with the Germany U19 captain scoring an astonishing four braces within the space of 11 days. He has battled his way into the starting line-up, and his brace against Hertha helped bring an end to Bochum's recent run of defeats.
Seimen, on loan from VfB Stuttgart, has been a revelation in the Paderborn goal this season. The 19-year-old is one of the top German talents between the sticks, and has become the first-choice pick at his new club after seeing off competition from Markus Schubert. Seimen earned four successive clean sheets in September and now has five in total, furthering his reputation as one of the most promising goalkeepers in the league.
Naatan Skyttä (Kaiserslautern)
The 23-year-old has made an attacking midfield spot his own for Lautern and was on the scoresheet in three consecutive games from Matchday 4-6. Now with a total of four goals, he is the Red Devils' second-best scorer this season. The young Finnish player signed from France is without doubt one of the best players in the division.
Egloff spent years trying to make the breakthrough for Stuttgart in the Bundesliga before a move last year to Karlsruhe allowed him to show his talent. He has become a key performer, starting 10 out of 12 games, and finding the back of the net in three successive games across Matchdays 8, 9 and 10 to make him the club's second-highest scorer with four goals.
The Schalke youth product had not made a single appearance for the first team before this summer, but under new coach Miron Muslić, the 20-year-old is first pick on the left flank. Becker has begun all 12 matches of the season so far, with only two of his teammates earning more minutes. The 20-year-old has also provided more crosses than any other Schalke player so far this term.
Matsuda was on loan at Hannover U23s for two seasons before being signed on a permanent deal this summer and flourishing under head coach Christian Titz. Traditionally a left-back, Matsuda has taken on new roles in the middle and from the right, showcasing his strong dribbling ability and popping up with three goals for his team.
After spending the majority of last season out on loan with Dynamo Dresden in the third division, Baur has battled his way into a regular spot in the Paderborn side this time around. Pulling the strings in midfield, Bauer's playmaking has helped the club set the early season pace as league leaders and been directly involved in four goals (two goals, two assists) in the process.
Akiyama has anchored the Darmstadt midfield to turn them from one of the weakest backlines (only five teams conceded more in 2024/25) to one of the strongest in the division (just two teams have conceded fewer after 12 games). He's also posed a major threat going forward, scoring twice and catching the eye with his range of passing.
Having joined from AlbinoLeffe in Italy's Serie C, coach Miroslav Klose showed his faith in him and gave him a chance to get used to Bundesliga 2. That patience is now paying off and, since Matchday 8, the attacker has scored twice and provided two assists. Nuremberg have won three and drawn twice in the process, as they start to move up the league.
Anouar El Azzouzi (Fortuna Düsseldorf)
El Azzouzi has missed just 28 minutes of league action so far, with only goalkeeper Florian Kastenmeier on the field for Fortuna more. He is one of the hardest-running players in Bundesliga 2 and has seen more of the ball than any of his teammates. He will clearly be a key element as Fortuna look to climb the division in the coming weeks.
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