Luka Vušković named Bundesliga Rookie of the Month for January
This season, the Bundesliga is again honouring its best young stars with the Rookie of the Month award presented by Sorare. Luka Vušković of Hamburg was voted January's best, ahead of RB Leipzig's Yan Diomande and Bayer Leverkusenc counterpart Jarell Quansah.
Fans voted exclusively on the Bundesliga app as Tottenham Hotspur loanee Vušković claimed his third Rookie prize.
After goals away in Freiburg on Matchday 16 in the Red Shorts’ shock 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich on Matchday 20, 18-year-old Vušković has found himself being showered with increasingly more praise over recent weeks.
The Croatian centre-back has been the breakout star at HSV this term and, despite his young age, has already established himself as the leader at the heart of the Hamburg defence, with more appearances (19) than any other central defender. To top it all off, Vušković was voted Man of the Match in three of the Red Shorts’ four January fixtures.
Alongside midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga and forward Rayan Philippe, Vušković is HSV’s joint top scorer this season with four goals, netting twice with his right foot and twice with his head. Most recently against Bayern, one of those headers provided the all-important equaliser which secured the 2–2 draw for Hamburg. His four goals also make Vušković most prolific defender in the Bundesliga (tied with Union Berlin’s Danilho Doekhi).
It’s not just in front of goal where Vušković has excelled. In his primary job as a defender, the young Croatian has won an impressive 66 per cent of his duels.
Teammate Nicolai Remberg has heaped praise on the defender, admitting: “I haven’t seen this at that age. He’s doing sensationally – he has incredible quality.” Head coach Merlin Polzin has also emphasised Vušković’s importance to his side, adding: “Luka plays in a team that needs his qualities in order to be successful”.
Other January candidates
Although it was personally disappointing for Diomande to be eliminated with the Ivory Coast in the quarter-final stage of the Africa Cup of Nations, Leipzig for one would have been happy about his early return, which allowed him to feature again against Freiburg on Matchday 17. The right winger is, after all, a true difference-maker for Ole Werner’s side.
In January, he provided two assists in the 3-0 win away in Heidenheim, which he then followed up with a goal in the 1-1 draw at St. Pauli. In fact, no other Leipzig player has registered more goal involvements than Diomande so far in 2026 (three). The Ivorian has carried his outstanding form into the new year, form that had already earned him the Rookie of the Month award back in December.
In total, Diomande has registered 11 goal contributions (seven goals, four assists) in 19 Bundesliga appearances. The rising star is Leipzig’s outright top scorer and is second only to Christoph Baumgartner for overall goal involvements. In addition to his goal threat, he won an impressive 60 per cent of his duels in January, and tops the league-wide charts for total duels won (237).
Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen)
The third player up for the award is centre-back Jarell Quansah, who has been a regular starter in the Leverkusen back three for much of the current campaign. This year, the Englishman, who is particularly dominant in the air, has been among the Bundesliga’s most assertive players, winning 70 per cent of his duels.
Composure is the name of the game with Quansah. In the last four matches - against Stuttgart, Hoffenheim, Bremen, and Frankfurt - the full England international committed just three fouls, which makes for an average of just one infringement every two hours.
Quansah has also continued to impress with his ability on the ball at Leverkusen, completing 89 per cent of his passes and averaging 82 touches per game. Going forward, can still improve, having scored just the once so far (all the way back on Matchday 1). In January, however, he’s shown flashes of offensive improvement, having registered three passes to an attempt on goal over the course of the month.
Previous winners
December 2025
November 2025
Ibrahim Maza (Bayer Leverkusen)
October 2025
September 2025
More on Rookie of the Month award
How it works
The Bundesliga will once again present the Rookie of the Month award to the best young talents in the 2025/26 season. Votes are cast not only by fans, but also by clubs and selected Bundesliga experts.
Vote weighting
- Fan votes: 40%
- Club votes: 30%
- Expert votes: 30%
Criteria
For a player to be classified as a rookie, certain requirements must be met. They must be under 23 years old on the first matchday of the season and must not have been in a starting line-up in any previous Bundesliga season. Furthermore, players must not have accumulated more than 450 minutes of playing time in the Bundesliga before the start of the current campaign.
This means that young talents who have only previously made brief appearances and have not yet had the opportunity to fully showcase their skill have the chance to be crowned Rookie of the Month. The monthly winners also receive a prestigious Bundesliga trophy and have the chance to defend their title the following month.
At the end of the season, the Rookie of the Season is chosen from the selection of monthly winners.
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