Jonathan Burkardt replaced Arsenal’s Kai Havertz in Julian Nagelsmann’s Germany squad and after making his debut for the national team, spoke of a positive atmosphere within the camp upon his return to Mainz.
“I’m very happy to have made two appearances as a national player now,” said Burkardt. “Nobody can take that away from me.”
A different experience to club level, Burkardt added that the ‘impressions, tactical content, team meetings’ was ‘all very exciting’ – a setup the 24-year-old had never experienced before with the training level also ‘significantly higher’ to what it is in Mainz.
Speaking on the atmosphere within the Germany camp, Burkardt added: “From the outside, it always seems so harmonious there. And I can now say that it is the same on the inside.”
Jonathan Burkardt’s justified place in the Germany squad
Burkardt was a consistent scorer at youth level, netting 10 goals in 20 games for the Germany U21 squad and a place in the senior team may have come sooner was it not for a serious knee injury that kept the forward sidelined for 35 games in the 2022/23 season.
But under Bo Henriksen, Burkardt is flying. With six goal contributions (five goals and one assist) in six Bundesliga games this season, no German has scored more goals than Burkardt across Europe’s top five leagues this season.
