A word to the wise: don't read too much into Bayern Munich’s Matchday 1 draw with Hertha Berlin. Three of the defending champions' summer signings - Ivan Perisic, Philippe Coutinho and Michael Cuisance - weren't even on the pitch at the Allianz Arena.

bundesliga.com takes a closer look at the world-beating stars brought in with the sole purpose of taking Germany's most successful club to another level…

Philippe Coutinho
Position: Winger/ attacking midfielder
Country: Brazil (55 caps)
Age: 27
Signed from: Barcelona (season-long loan)

Coutinho brings a wealth of top-level experience to the table and offers Bayern coach Niko Kovac a plethora of options in the final third. The Brazil international ran roughshod over the English Premier League during his five-year stint at Liverpool, registering 54 goals and 45 assists in 201 games, before setting up shop as part of potent attacking trio alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez at Barcelona. He fits the Franck Ribery vacancy on the left-hand side of the Bayern midfield like a glove, but is equally a dab hand in a No.10 or No.8 role. Regardless of his deployment, maximum damage on opposition defences is a guarantee.

Barcelona-owned Coutinho has played top-tier football in Brazil, Spain, Italy and England. - imago images / AFLOSPORT

Ivan Perisic
Position: Winger
Age: 30
Country: Croatia (82 caps)
Signed from: Inter Milan (season-long loan)

The same can be said of Croatia international, Perisic. A genuine technician and unusually robust for a wide player, Perisic produced some memorable performances and scored some sensational goals for previous Bundesliga employers Borussia Dortmund and Wolfsburg, lifting the title with the former. The Inter Milan loanee's preferred role is on the left-hand side, where he typically lined up for his parent club as well his country on their run to the 2018 World Cup final, but can also operate centrally or as an inverted winger out on the right. Heck, he could even do a job as a No.9, should the indefatigable Robert Lewandowski ever need a breather.

Watch: Ivan Perisic's top 5 Bundesliga goals

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Lucas Hernandez
Position: Centre-back/ left-back
Age: 23
Country: France (15 caps)
Signed from: Atletico Madrid

If there's one thing Bayern don’t want in a player, aside from the obvious, it's a one-trick pony. Step forward Hernandez, a world-class central defender AND left-back. The Frenchman see-sawed between roles without a moment’s hesitation in his four years as part of the notoriously tough nut to crack defensive unit that is Atletico Madrid, but won the World Cup as Didier Deschamps' first-choice left-back. Once fully recovered from a knee ligament injury, he is expected to skip the queue at Bayern and form a formidable central defensive partnership next to the similarly uncompromising Niklas Süle, whilst providing an alternative to David Alaba on the left of Kovac's favoured back four.

Hernandez made his injury-deferred Bayern debut in a pre-season friendly against amateur side FC Rottach-Egern. - imago images / eu-images

Benjamin Pavard
Position: Centre-back/ right-back
Age: 23
Country: France (22 caps)
Signed from: VfB Stuttgart

Much like Hernandez, Benjamin Pavard adds more than one string to Bayern’s bow. The Frenchman did not miss a kick on his way to lifting the World Cup in Russia, and even won the goal of the tournament with his stunning half-volley in Les Bleus' 4-3 win over Argentina in the Round of 16. He played six out of seven games at the finals at right-back, despite making a name for himself at club level with VfB Stuttgart as a centre-back. Averaging nine challenges won per game and completing 90 percent of his attempted passes, he even came up smelling of roses during Stuttgart's relegation-fated campaign in 2018/19. It remains a mystery to this day why one of French football's leading lights was cast in the role of understudy back at boyhood club Lille…

Watch: A reminder of what Benjamin Pavard brings to Bayern Munich

Bayern's other dealings

Fiete Arp
Position: Striker
Age: 19
Country: Germany U19s (5 caps)
Signed from: Hamburg

Dubbed 'the next Harry Kane' - a nod to the qualities he shares with the Tottenham Hotspur and England striker - Fiete Arp is seen as the long-term heir to Lewandowski. The Germany youth international famously became the first player born in the millennium to score in the Bundesliga whilst at Hamburg, and has already opened his Bayern account - in the pre-season Audi Cup.

Sarpreet Singh
Position: Attacking midfielder
Age: 20
Country: New Zealand (4 caps)
Signed from: Wellington Phoenix

New Zealand prodigy Sarpreet Singh was signed to Bayern's reserve team, but enjoyed ample playing time with the seniors during pre-season and was among the substitutes against Hertha on the opening weekend. A left-footed No.10 - something of a James Rodriguez-Mesut Özil hybrid - the 20-year-old is unlike any player in the current Bayern squad.

Fiete Arp (1r.) and Sarpreet Singh (3l.) have already shown they can hang with the Bayern first team. - imago images / Sven Simon

Michael Cuisance
Position: Central midfielder
Age: 20
Country: France U20s (7 caps)
Signed from: Borussia Mönchengladbach

Just because Michael Cuisance was a somewhat left-field acquisition shouldn't detract from the talent the Frenchman has at his feet. The cultured left-footer was voted Borussia Mönchengladbach's 2017/18 Player of the Season and, with a bit of TLC, could find himself vying with the likes of Corentin Tolisso and Leon Goretzka for a place in the starting XI sooner rather than later.

Liam Morrison
Position: Centre-back
Age: 16
Country: Scotland U17s (5 caps)
Signed from: Celtic

Liam Morrison's path to the Bayern first team is a stretch longer. The Scottish defender is only 16 and will initially be part of the club's youth academy - a route he chose over signing a professional contract with Glasgow Celtic.

Michael Cuisance (l.) has two seasons of Bundesliga football behind him, having joined Gladbach at 17 in summer 2017. - Photo by Maja Hitij/Bongarts/Getty Images

A force to be reckoned with - yet again

Bayern wasn't built in a day. The record champions' shopping spree began in January with confirmation of Pavard's move from Stuttgart before Hernandez put pen to paper in March.

And while rivals Dortmund splurged on Julian Brandt, Thorgan Hazard and Nico Schulz immediately after the conclusion of the 2018/19 campaign, Bayern used the summer months to steadily acquire players of all different shapes and sizes with a view to consolidating their place at the Bundesliga summit, defending their DFB Cup crown and bringing the UEFA Champions League back to Bavaria.

Investing in the present and future, Bayern's transfer business has been the business after all.

Chris Mayer-Lodge

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