"Ones to watch" for Bundesliga Matchday 16 - Winter transfer edition | OneFootball

1. Gift Orban (Hoffenheim)

Once an exciting prospect in Belgium, Gift Orban has lost the status of a potential wonderkid in football. In Nigeria, a country which already has great options for the striker position in Victor Osimhen, Victor Boniface and current African player of the year Ademola Lookman, Orban was supposed to be the next breakout star - but his transfer to Olympique Lyon in January 2023 put things on hold for the time being.

In Belgium, Orban scored 32 goals in 52 games for KAA Gent and attracted the interest of many European top clubs with Lyon being the ones to secure his signature. Since then however, Orban was not able to help a struggling Lyon side to former glory. In the current season, Orban only played 5 out of a possible 22 games in France - too little for a player with his potential.

Hoffenheim themselves have been struggling this season as well, placed 15 in the Bundesliga after 15 games are in a much worse position than what the bosses expect from the club. One big problem is the small amount of goals so far. Hoffenheim have scored 20 goals in 15 games in the Bundesliga, ranking 12th overall. No player has scored more than 4 goals so far apart from the reliable Kramaric with 6 goals. That's why they have decided to bring in a new player to solve this issue.

Hoffenheim play against Wolfsburg on matchday 16 in the Bundesliga - Orban will make sure to have an instant impact in order to remind everyone why he was once “the next super striker”.

2. Budu Zivzivadze (Heidenheim)

After a great start to the season and an extraordinary 2023/24 campaign, Heidenheim have been in bad form since November. 0 points from the last 5 games, a goal difference of -13 and table position 16 - it's not looking too good for Frank Schmidt's side. For that reason, Heidenheim have decided to bring in new players to help their hopes of staying in the Bundesliga.

One player who is likely to have the biggest impact is Budu Zivzivadze, former player of 2. Bundesliga side Karlsruhe. The Georgian striker, who featured twice at EURO 2024, has been one of the best players in Germany's 2nd division, contributing to 15 goals in 17 games.

While Zivzivadze has never played in the Bundesliga before, his experience and current form could still be the deciding factor in Heidenheim's difficult season. Similar to Hoffenheim, Heidenheim have no player with more than 4 goals so far this season. Time to change that!

Heidenheim come up against Union Berlin on matchday 16 of the Bundesliga, a must win game at this current time for Heidenheim. Watch out for Zivzivadze, who will be eager to show Germany that he should have been playing in the top tier much earlier.

3. Jacob Bruun Larsen (Stuttgart)

That transfer came out of nowhere! Bruun Larsen has enjoyed a lot of playing time for Hoffenheim in 2024/25 so far, playing in 19 out of 24 games and contributing to 4 goals in the process. In a surprising turn of events, he now finds himself potentially playing Champions League football for Stuttgart and coach Sebastian Hoeneß.

Bruun Larsen has had a “stop-and-go”-career, with many ups and downs along the way. He was a great talent at Dortmund, but failed to bring consistency into his game. At Hoffenheim, Bruun Larsen was never really able to show his full potential; his loan to Burnley however got him on a good track again. Now he will give his best at Stuttgart - possibly his last opportunity to reach his full potential.

Stuttgart play against Augsburg on matchday 16 of the Bundesliga in what should be an “easy” game for the vice champion of the Bundesliga. With many great talents in the squad already, Bruun Larsen needs to show his qualities right away, otherwise it will be difficult to get a starting spot at Stuttgart - so you better watch out for him when watching this game!