Maximilian Eggestein: Werder Bremen's answer to Toni Kroos
Maximilian Eggestein's performances for Werder Bremen in 2018/19 have been drawing some favourable comparisons with Germany midfielder Toni Kroos. bundesliga.com introduces the player seen as the future of German football...
Maximilian Eggestein
Age: 21
Position: Midfield
Club: Werder Bremen
Country: Germany (Nine U21 caps)
Key stats
Still only 21, Eggestein made his Bundesliga debut back in 2014 as a late substitute against Paderborn, but it wasn’t until the second half of the 2016/17 campaign that he finally made his breakthrough and settled into a defensive midfield position. With the arrival of head coach Florian Kohfeldt midway through 2017/18, however, Eggestein shifted into a freer central midfielder role with Philipp Bargfrede assuming the more defensive duties. Eggestein, a Bremen youth academy graduate, has since started every match under Kohfeldt and has added goalscoring to his impressive arsenal in 2018/19, with four goals already after nine games, including a league-high three from outside the box. That total is already more than his his previous four Bundesliga seasons combined, and included a maiden brace against Schalke.
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What they're saying
“I’m really pleased he’s scoring goals from distance. I told him he needed to shoot more because he has a really good shot.” – Werder teammate Claudio Pizarro on Eggestein’s improved goalscoring
“We appreciate his versatility. He pairs tactical discipline with a good instinct for space and the opponent’s runs, so he knows when he can leave his position.” – Germany U21 coach Stefan Kuntz