DUESSELDORF: Benjamin Sesko’s long-awaited move from Leipzig to Manchester United is done. Now the real work begins.

Sesko and his fellow Premier League arrival from the Bundesliga, Liverpool’s Hugo Ekitiké, will need to buck a recent trend of highly rated forwards from the German league struggling after they leave.

Another with something to prove is Mathys Tel, whose move to Tottenham from Bayern Munich was made permanent despite scoring just two goals in 13 Premier League games on loan last season.

Of course, Erling Haaland smashed records as soon as he arrived in the Premier League with Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund in 2022.

For every star like Haaland, plenty of players like Jadon Sancho, Timo Werner or Randal Kolo Muani lost their way after leaving Germany in big-money deals.

A friendly league for forwards

One reason might be that the Bundesliga is a happy hunting ground for would-be goalscorers.

It led the top five European leagues in terms of goals scored per game last season with 3.13 — the others were all below three — and is the only one to average more than three goals per game in each of the last seven years.

Some of that is down to Bayern racking up the score against smaller teams, but Germany is also the home of a tactical shift in world soccer over the past 15 years.

High defensive lines and so-called “gegenpressing” high up the field reward fast, physical forwards who can hustle for the ball and take advantage of a sudden breakaway. Underdog teams are often minded to take risks rather than “park the bus” and defend deep.