Julian Green has been named one of the disappointing Bundesliga transfers of the summer, as Borussia Monchengladbach are named "best shoppers" in Germany by football magazine kicker.
Green, 18, joined Hamburger SV on a season-long loan from Bayern Munich during the final days of the summer transfer period. Only a few days later, the U.S. international won his first Bundesliga minutes, but was not able to turn the fortunes of former HSV coach Mirko Slomka around.
Slomka, who substituted Green at half-time, was sacked by the club board following the 2-0 defeat at Hannover 96. Since then, the U.S. starlet, who scored at the World Cup, has come off the bench three times in the eight Bundesliga games that followed, and sat out a number of matches with bruised ribs.
As Hamburg's struggles continue, Green has fallen off the radar of the German media. The Bundesliga dinosaurs have only scored four goals all season, and collected nine points.
They comfortably sit in the relegation zone, and the German press currently is looking for a Hamburg saviour, and don't appear to trust the Bayern Munich loanee with that job. Green is not mentioned in those reports searching for the player to reverse Hamburg's fortunes.
On Thursday, HSV were named the worst shoppers of the summer transfer window. Of their eight summer signings, only Switzerland international Valon Behrami received an above average rating, while Julian Green only received two out of a possible 10 points.
The football magazine's ranking is an annual list released towards the end of the calendar year, rating each Bundesliga club's summer signings by "how they fulfilled the role they were tasked with," and "whether the plan the club had with the player worked out."
Still, Green is by far not the player with the lowest number. His Hamburg teammate, the centre-back Cleber, 23, scored a one, with eight players scoring a two. Germany international Sidney Sam was punished with the worst possible ranking, a zero, following his transfer from Bayer Leverkusen to FC Schalke 04.
U.S. international Timothy Chandler received a three from the football magazine, and U.S. right back Fabian Johnson, one of the stars at the 2014 World Cup, was awarded six points following his free transfer from Hoffenheim to Borussia Monchengladbach.
That was the lowest score Borussia Monchengladbach received. The Foals were named best shoppers of the league for the second year running after also signing Switzerland shot-stopper Yann Sommer, 10 points, Germany international Andre Hahn, 10 points, Chelsea youngster Thorgan Hazard, 8, and former Stuttgart winger Ibrahima Traore, 7.
Other instant hits at their new clubs, and getting the maximum score, are Paderborn's Moritz Stoppelkamp, Hoffenheim's Oliver Baumann, former Real star Xabi Alonso, Freiburg's Swiss keeper Roman Burki and the club's new centre-back Marc-Oliver Kempf, the 1.FC Cologne duo Kevin Vogt and Pawel Olkowski, Leverkusen's set-piece wizard Hakan Calhanoglu and his teammate Tin Jedvaj, as well as Wolfsburg midfielder Josuha Guilavogui.