Thirteen weeks on from lifting the Bundesliga for a seventh successive year, Bayern Munich begin their latest title defence with a home match against Hertha Berlin on Friday.
Bayern have strengthened their defence during the close season, but they are a little light in attack following the departures of Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben and James Rodriguez.
Will that give other teams, namely last term s runners-up Borussia Dortmund, an opportunity to catch Niko Kovac s side?
The transfer window does not shut until September 2 but, ahead of the opening round of fixtures, we look at the five best signings made by Bundesliga clubs.
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Lookman @ Leipzig 2.0
— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN)
5. Ademola Lookman (RB Leipzig)
Following the success of Jadon Sancho at Dortmund, German clubs are desperate to get their hands on the next young British talent.
Others have followed in the steps of Sancho, including Rabbi Matondo, Ethan Ampadu, Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson, each with the aim of making a name for themselves on foreign shores.
Lookman is no stranger to doing exactly that, having starred for Leipzig during a spell on loan at Red Bull Arena in 2018 when playing a direct part in eight goals across his 11 Bundesliga appearances.
First-team opportunities were few and far between on his return to Everton, but he now has a chance to truly kickstart his career after a permanent deal worth a reported €25million was agreed between the clubs.
4. Moussa Diaby (Bayer Leverkusen)
Awarded the Titi d’Or award in 2016 given to the player deemed the most promising in Paris Saint-Germain s academy Diaby was expected to go on and become a key member in PSG s first-team squad.
Following a brief spell on loan with Crotone in 2017-18, Diaby returned to the Parc des Princes and started 10 Ligue 1 matches last season, scoring two goals and setting up six more.
He further enhanced his reputation with France at the Under-20 World Cup, but with competition from the likes of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Angel Di Maria and Julian Draxler in the wide positions, he opted to move to Leverkusen.
Having also brought in Kerem Demirbay from Hoffenheim in a reported €28m deal, not many sides will have more creative midfield talents than Leverkusen this season.
3. Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Dortmund)
Dortmund were quick off the mark with their transfer dealings, using the cash from Christian Pulisic s £58m sale to Chelsea to bolster their squad from front to back.
Less than a week after the 2018-19 campaign finished, Hazard and Julian Brandt arrived at Dortmund on five-year deals from Borussia Monchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen respectively on the same day.
Brandt boasts plenty of Bundesliga experience from his five years with Bayer and represented Germany at the 2018 World Cup.
It is arguably the capture of Hazard that is the more exciting of the two, though. The Belgian attacking midfielder registered double figures for both goals and assists in the top flight last season and he will provide BVB with some additional creativity.
Welcome to my bro
I look forward to playing with you for club and country next season
— Axel Witsel (@axelwitsel28)
2. Lucas Hernandez (Bayern Munich)
Like Dortmund, Bayern did not hang around to get their biggest pieces of transfer business to date, at least out of the way early on as they completed deals for French defenders Hernandez and Benjamin Pavard before last season was even over.
Pavard arrives from Stuttgart for around €35m and Lucas makes the switch from Atletico Madrid for a mammoth €80m.
Bayern now have both of the starting full-backs from France s World Cup-winning campaign, and in Lucas they have a player capable of playing on the left or in central defence, where he is most likely to feature during his time at the Allianz Arena.
He missed all of Bayern s pre-season programme but has now recovered from knee surgery and is expected to slot in alongside Niklas Sule in the early weeks of the season.
1. Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund)
Dortmund led the way at the top of the Bundesliga for a large part of last season, only to slip away when the going got tough.
The return of experienced defender Hummels in the heart of defence could potentially be the missing piece in the jigsaw for Lucien Favre s side, then, with BVB finishing just two points behind Bayern last time around.
He returns to Signal Iduna Park for a reported fee of €31m and has plenty of title-winning experience that he can put to good use, making Bayern s decision to sell him to a direct rival somewhat surprising and one that could potentially backfire come next May.
2019-?
Mats Hummels has now bid farewell to Bayern yet again and looks towards his new challenge with Lucien Favre s Borussia Dortmund
— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN)
