Jonathan Burkardt has been in red-hot form for Mainz this season. - © IMAGO/Sebastian Räppold/Matthias Koch

bundesliga

Jonathan Burkardt shining for Mainz as further Germany opportunities beckon

07.03.2025

With the 2024/25 Bundesliga campaign hurtling to its conclusion, Mainz are in contention to qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time. While the 05ers are more than the sum of their parts, captain Jonathan Burkardt has been their stand-out performer, a fact that will not have gone unnoticed with Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann.

With the national-team tactician preparing to name his next Germany squad ahead of the March international break, bundesliga.com takes a look at the merits for a Burkardt call-up as a forward who is currently next level.

Rising up to fourth in the table, Mainz have found the back of the net 42 times in the German top flight this term, and Burkardt has scored 14 of them. This, therefore, is already the most prolific season of his career and, given how much of the campaign remains, it would be a surprise if the 24-year-old did not surpass the single-season Mainz record of 15 Bundesliga goals shared by André Schürrle and Shinji Okazaki. Meanwhile, his 37 career Bundesliga efforts are already a historical club-high tally.

Watch: Mainz - Carnival & A Champions League Dream

It has not been an easy path to the top for the centre-forward. After breaking through during the 2020/21 campaign, Burkardt scored 11 in 34 Bundesliga matches the following term and looked set to continue his meteoric rise. However, midway through the 2022/23 season, disaster struck, with Burkardt requiring knee surgery following an injury suffered against Eintracht Frankfurt in November. He scored his first goal of the season in that match, and it was to be his last strike for 15 months.

Plenty of players would fold after suffering such a setback, yet Burkardt not only recovered, but he also improved upon his return. Much of that is down to Bo Henriksen, who helped the forward to eight goals in his last 13 matches of the previous season following the Dane’s appointment. A full pre-season last summer put Burkardt in a fantastic position to attack the new campaign, and he has done just that.

Watch: Jonathan Burkardt - Mainz's main man

Following a match-winning display against Augsburg in September, Henriksen praised his talisman. “We know he's a good player,” he said. “This time, he was incredibly important because he also ran a lot to defend. What a man, what a player, I'm proud. He is of course also a leader for us. A player we always trust. He wants to do everything for this club.”

Only Harry Kane, Patrik Schick and Omar Marmoush have found the back of the net more often than Burkardt in 2024/25, a testament to the latter’s ability considering the current status of those two leading marksmen. He is also the top-scoring German across Europe’s top five leagues alongside Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Tim Kleindienst, and his rivalry with the former Heidenheim man is not limited to the top flight’s goalscoring charts.

Following Miroslav Klose's retirement after winning the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Germany have struggled to find a striker capable of reproducing his impact. Now, they have several candidates, including Deniz Undav and Niclas Füllkrug, but Kleindienst and Burkardt are the leading candidates to take over from Kai Havertz following his season-ending injury.

It is under Bo Henriksen that Burkardt has found another level. - IMAGO/Frey-Pressebild/Deines

Nevertheless, with the the likes of Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala being amongst the first names on Julian Nagelsmann’s team sheet, there is only place for one focal point in the national team’s starting line-up.

Burkardt made his Germany debut as a substitute against Bosnia and Herzegovina in October last year and also appeared from the bench against the Netherlands a few days later. On both occasions, Kleindienst was given the nod, and further staked his claim to be long-term first choice with a brace versus Bosnia a month later – Burkardt was not selected for that squad.

Since that snub, Mainz’s skipper has scored eight times in the league and will surely be named this time around. Having struck 10 goals in 20 U21 appearances, also wearing the captain’s armband, he has already shown he can adapt to the international stage and is now in the form of his life.

Jonathan Burkardt (r.) has two Germany caps to his name. - IMAGO/Pressefoto Rudel/Herbert R

While Kleindienst may be preferred again, Burkardt has time on his side. He may need to be patient, but it is undoubtedly only a matter of time before he shines for the Nationalelf with the same frightening regularity as at club level. There are exciting times for both Mainz’s No. 9 and his country ahead!