Former Premier League misfits on song in the Bundesliga

It could be argued that Premier League clubs have routinely paid over the odds for Germany's most budding talents in recent years. Kevin De Bruyne, Leroy Sane and Granit Xhaka are just a few of the high profile transfers to arrive from the Bundesliga to England's top-flight in recent seasons.

It's not difficult to discern the gulf in finances between the two leagues. As a result, German clubs have had to settle for transfers with far less prominence when buying from abroad, even eyeing players with faltering reputations in the hope of rehabilitating past promise, or aiming for youngsters looking for game time and exposure.

In the main, transfers of that manner have proven to be prosperous, with a number of players that Premier League fans may recognise now making significant waves at the start of this new campaign.

A player that needs little introduction is Javier Hernández. The Mexican striker is now rebuilding his reputation at Bayer Leverkusen as one of Europe's most clinical strikers. The striker's goal at the weekend capped off an industrious win against rivals Dortmund, taking his tally to 5 in his opening 5 appearances. The highly prolific forward will look to surpass the record of 17 he managed last season in an attempt to help Bayer bridge the gap from the top.

Nowadays, it isn't a rarity for Chicharito to be belted out by Die Werkself's faithful around BayArena. The 28-year old may have been kept largely in the shadows at the end of his time at Manchester United and, more recently, Real Madrid but he has well and truly stepped out from them now.

Chicharito's agility, awareness and finishing has helped him shine with the spotlight on him once again, scoring 33 goals in 48 matches for Roger Schmidt's side. His output proved to be crucial in helping his team secure Champions League qualification, with his performances reigniting interest from across Europe.

The forward is now as influential off the pitch as he on it for Bayer too. CEO, Michael Schade spoke on his importance in the Mexican market as the club continues to make inroads in South America. "We have launched our new jersey on the first of July, and in the first four weeks we sold more than 12 thousand jerseys in Mexico alone."

No stranger to an impressive goalscoring record is current Hoffenheim front man Andrej Kramaric. The Croatian averaged a league goal every 90 minutes for HNK Rijeka before he made his big money move to Leicester. Largely labelled a flop, Kramaric only managed 20 appearances for the Foxes, scoring 4 goals in that period.

The young forward often spoke about his frustration at the club, at the time stating, 'I deserve to play more, it affects my confidence. I don't know what's going to happen." It was Nigel Pearson who gave Kramaric time to adapt, whilst playing time was limited to just 2 appearances in Claudio Ranieri's title winning side, understandably opting to stick with Shinji Okazaki and Jamie Vardy. The Italian coach admitted that although he rated the striker highly, he felt that Kramaric would disappear in phases in a match, something The Foxes couldn't afford in their high-octane performances.

But on the contrary, Kramaric performed like a workhorse in his loan spell at Hoffenheim, playing a key role in their remarkable survival - fronted by head coach Julian Nagelsmann. Kramaric contributed to 7 goals in just 15 appearances, earning a permanent switch to the side in the summer.

"Hoffenheim have shown me a lot of confidence, so I could show my strengths very quickly." the Croatian striker said, adding "They put a lot of faith in me and the system catered to my strengths.” The versatile forward has played in a number of positions on the pitch, contributing with 2 goals and 4 assists in Hoffenheim's opening 6 matches.

Cologne are also one of four sides to retain an unbeaten start to the season, owing no small amount to Anthony Modeste's 67th minute acrobatic equaliser against Champions Bayern Munich. It was the striker's 20th goal for the club having made just 40 appearances for Peter Stöger's team, placing him second in the top French goalscorers in the history of the Bundesliga, with 39, only behind maestro Franck Ribery (71 goals).

Many would have forgotten Modeste's Premier League experience, and understandably so, with the forward having had a brief stint at Blackburn Rovers on loan in 2012. After being sent off in a torrid debut, Modeste went on to make just 4 more appearances for Steve Kean's relegated side.

Modeste eventually found himself at Hoffenheim and quickly rose to prominence as the focal point to their attack. However, despite an impressive record in front of goal, Markus Gisdol decided to use his target man in rotation in his final season at the club. With that, FC Cologne jumped at the chance to secure the services of the powerful striker with time ticking on his contract at the Sinsheim club. Modeste made the switch to a city famous for it's carnival, and it wasn't long before he became a major attraction in Cologne's act.

Modeste has built a rapport with team-mate Yuya Osako as his support striker, crediting his finish against Bayern to the Japanese striker, "That, I learnt from him!" Feeding off the delivery from wide areas of Leonardo Bittencourt and Marcel Risse has also proven profitable, with the latter usually aiming to play him through at any given opportunity. "Marcel always looks for me, we work on it in training". FC Cologne could make a surprise push for European football with Modeste playing an integral role.

Elsewhere having struggled to force a way into Arsene Wenger's plans in the fashion in which Alex Iwobi has now accomplished, Serge Gnabry decided that a return to Germany would be the best step for his development.

Wenger spoke about wanting to keep his up-and-coming prodigy but the product of Stuttgart's academy has followed in the steps of ex-teammates Mesut Ozil and Per Mertesacker in looking to establish himself at Werder Bremen. His quick and direct approach to play has offered Bremen another dimension to their attack, encapsulated by his goal against Darmstadt, rounding the keeper to earn the The River Islanders a vital point from a dismal start to the campaign.

Gnabry may prove to be vital to a side largely expected to be fighting for survival this season. The robust winger has created 10 chances from open play, the joint most in the league (alongside Thomas Müller), as well as averaging 2.6 successful dribbles per game, which ranks fourth in the league. His wonder strike, albeit a consolation against Gladbach, also displayed the power and confidence he packs in his shot.

In that same match Gladbach ran away 4-1 victors, with former Chelsea man Thorgan Hazard putting in a man of the match performance, scoring a brace in the process. Despite a slow start at Gladbach, the Belgian has benefited from Andre Schubert's appointment, with his pace and quick feet proving to be an ideal fit to the side's vibrant football style and counter attacking play.

Hazard breaks the mould of a stereotypical attacking midfielder, his work rate is more reminiscent of that of a deeper midfielder. Currently being deployed alongside Raffael, Hazard's movement off the ball is also vital, moving into channels to create space for his strike partner. His new position has also meant he has averaged 1.3 shots on target, a notable upgrade from figures of 0.7 and 0.3 in previous seasons for the club.

It is known that Chelsea have the ability to activate a buy back clause before the year ends, but Hazard has brushed the suggestion aside for the time being. "I'm not wasting a single thought on Chelsea, I am totally focused on my job here." Seven goals in his last 9 appearances certainly back up that statement.

Which of these former Premier League players has impressed you the most in the Bundesliga this season?