Marvin Ducksch, Janis Blaswich & Grischa Prömel: what do Julian Nagelsmann's latest call-ups bring to Germany?
Julian Nagelsmann added three uncapped players to his squad for the friendlies against Turkey and Austria in Marvin Ducksch, Janis Blaswich and Grischa Prömel…
The winds of change have been sweeping through the Germany national team of late, with Nagelsmann now having picked his second squad since succeeding Hansi Flick as head coach in September.
His first selection saw Chris Führich, Kevin Behrens and Robert Andrich earn maiden call-ups, and now Ducksch, Blaswich and Prömel will join them in pursuit of their first senior caps.
bundesliga.com takes a closer look at the three, and why they have been called up…
Marvin Ducksch
Age: 29
Club: Werder Bremen
Position: Striker
Plays a bit like: Niclas Füllkrug
Watch: All of Ducksch's goals and assists this season
Just as Behrens was called up to the last squad, Werder Bremen striker Marvin Ducksch has been added to this one. And the reason is quite simple: Nagelsmann wants to be able to rely upon more than just Niclas Füllkrug in the No.9 position, and the Borussia Dortmund man's former strike partner with Die Grün-Weißen fits the bill.
Füllkrug broke into the Germany set-up under Flick last October, on the way to sharing last season's Torjägerkanone with RB Leipzig's Christopher Nkunku (now of Chelsea) with 16 goals. But the season prior - Bremen's promotion campaign - Ducksch had scored 20 to Füllkrug's 19, and he might feel deserved his own chance at international level.
Ducksch played deeper and wider earlier in his career, and has a greater prowess from free-kick than Füllkrug, but he is now a bona fide striker and Nagelsmann will be hoping he can lead the line with equal aplomb to his former clubmate.
Janis Blaswich
Age: 32
Club: RB Leipzig
Position: Goalkeeper
Plays a bit like: Jens Lehmann
Watch: the best of Janis Blaswich
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With Manuel Neuer left out as he looks to recover full fitness after coming back from a broken leg, Nagelsmann has the chance to look at who might join the Bayern Munich captain and Barcelona's Marc-André ter Stegen as his goalkeeping contingent at UEFA Euro 2024.
The competition is fierce, with Kevin Trapp, Oliver Baumann and Bernd Leno also in the conversation, but Janis Blaswich deserves his shot after replacing Péter Gulácsi as RB Leipzig's No.1 before keeping a Bundesliga-best five clean sheets from 10 games this season.
"Janis is a good goalkeeper - good with the ball at his feet, but strong at the bread and butter of goalkeeping," said Nagelsmann of Blaswich. He might not expect to be Germany's first-choice next summer, but neither did Jens Lehmann this far ahead of the 2006 World Cup…
Grischa Prömel
Age: 28
Club: Hoffenheim
Position: Central midfielder
Plays a bit like: Leon Goretzka
Hoffenheim midfielder Grischa Prömel got added to the squad after Dortmund's Felix Nmecha withdrew with a hip injury, and he now has the chance to represent his nation for the first time since helping them to an Olympic silver medal in Brazil in 2016.
Prömel is a versatile midfielder who can play at the point or base of a triangle or either side in a midfield three, meaning that positionally he is not so different to Bayern man Leon Goretzka, whom he joins in the squad this time.
While Florian Wirtz and Julian Brandt will look to join the attack, Joshua Kimmich and İlkay Gündoğan pull the strings from deeper, Prömel - like Goretzka - synthesises the two. Two goals and three assists this season, but two clearances per game, underline his completeness.
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