German football has produced plenty of exciting young talents in recent years and the latest to make a big impression on the Bundesliga is Hertha Berlin midfielder Mitch Weiser.
Despite being only 21 years old, he is by no means a new name to fans of German football but his progress has been more staggered than what might have been expected since he made his Bundesliga debut as a 17 year old in the 2012-13 season.
The struggle to settle in a club
It has taken two changes of clubs for us to really see the best of Weiser. He started at Köln, becoming the club’s youngest Bundesliga player when he came off the bench against Bayer Leverkusen.
However those 15 minutes would turn out to be the only ones he would play for Köln as a summer move to Bayern Munich proved too good to turn down.
Unsurprisingly he struggled to get a look in during his first two seasons at the Allianz Arena, featuring mostly for their reserve side as well as on a brief loan spell in the Second tier at Kaiserslautern.
Last term though he did make something of a breakthrough and appeared to be over some of the injury problems that had plagued him earlier on in his career.
Weiser made eight starts for Bayern in the Bundesliga in the 2014/15 campaign, scoring his first goal in the 6-0 win at Paderborn in February.
Given the quality in the Bayern Munich squad, that was still some achievement although he was by no means a regular fixture in the side and as it turns out perhaps wisely Weiser exercised his right to leave on a free transfer in the summer and join fellow Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin.
Thriving with Hertha Berlin
The 21 year old has thrived with the added responsibility of being an important member of the team and has been a key reason why Hertha are doing so well. The side from the capital are currently third in the Bundesliga with Weiser featuring prominently in both a full-back role and in a more advanced wing position.
Regular first time football has helped him really make his mark but perhaps the realisation that he was in danger of letting his talent go to waste also played its role.
Weiser has a bit of a reputation for enjoying life off the pitch and once infamously turned down the chance to represent Bayern II in an important play-off match in favour of a holiday.
Renewed drive
However his move to Berlin seems to have given Weiser a real focus and the drive to not let his career slide away having not quite made the grade at the biggest club in Germany.
Perhaps a perceived bad attitude is one reason why Bayern didn’t try harder to convince him to stay in Bavaria but whatever his issues were, Mitch Weiser appears to have turned a corner and could one day come back to haunt his former employers.
Written by Mark Sochon
Follow Mark on Twitter @tikitakagol
Check out his brilliant blog on all things La Liga, Tiki-Taka-Gol!
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