Nathan Tella: How is the ex-Southampton star getting on at Bayer Leverkusen? | OneFootball

Former Southampton winger Nathan Tella made the switch to Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga last summer, and has been adjusting well to life in Germany's top flight.

He left St Mary's last August for a deal reportedly worth £20million, having spent the previous season on loan at Burnley, where he helped the Clarets gain promotion into the Premier League, notching 17 goals and five assists in 39 games that season.

Tella, having spent time in the Saints' academy as a youth prospect, rose to make 44 senior appearances in total for the now-Championship side, scoring three goals and providing six assists in that time.

But with significant interest in his services over the summer, Southampton decided to cash in - although he ended up overseas despite the pursuit of Burnley to try and make him a permanent player at Turf Moor which ultimately ended in failure.

Now plying his trade at the summit of the Bundesliga, the 24-year-old appears to have taken the step up in his stride.

Nathan Tella's Bayer Leverkusen career so far

Tella is still earning the right to be one of the first names on Xabi Alonso's team sheet, fighting for his place predominately against 31-year-old attacking midfielder Jonas Hofmann.

However, Tella's two Bundesliga starts so far this season have both come this month, signaling that it's a battle that the young attacker is succeeding in.

Despite making the majority of his appearances from the bench, he has impressed when he's been called upon as a substitute and has already claimed four goals and one assist in his 12 outings so far this season, with the sole assist coming in the crucial top-of-the-table clash against Bayern Munich.

He has started more frequently however in the UEFA Europa League, starting in every one of Leverkusen's six group matches as they achieved a perfect winning record to progress to the last 16, with Tella himself scoring once, assisting once and even filled in at right wing-back against Molde in a more experimental role.

This season could go down in history for Leverkusen, and Tella is beginning to make a significant mark on the side.

Tella now has international ambitions with Nigeria

The England-born Tella is eligible to turn out for the Nigeria national squad on account of his Nigerian father, and the former Saints winger has long since made his ambition to turn out for the Super Eagles clear, stating back in January 2022 that he was in the process of applying for a Nigerian passport should he receive the call-up.

He was duly summoned for international duty at the end of last year for the African side's World Cup qualifiers, where he made his international debut against Zimbabwe, although he didn't go to the African Cup of Nations.

Tella is yet to appear again for his country, but it was a huge milestone for the player to hit following his move away from England, and at 24 years old there is plenty of time for the young star to add to his tally.

Performances of the calibre he has shown in recent times for the Bundesliga leaders will undoubtedly play a factor in any decision made by the Nigeria management team for upcoming squads.

Tella finds himself in a Bundesliga title race

When Tella arrived at the BayArena last summer, there was little doubt he was joining one of the biggest German sides.

However, what likely wouldn't have been expected is that the former Arsenal youth prospect would months later be locked into a race for Die Werkself's first Bundesliga title against German stalwarts Bayern Munich.

The job Xabi Alonso is doing with his Leverkusen side has received global acclaim, so it comes as some compliment that Tella is playing an active role in the hunt for title glory.

It remains to be seen whether the young winger will be able to add the silverware to his CV come the end of the season, but the fact he has had an impact on shifting the seeming immovable object of Munich off the top spot is some credit.

The future looks bright for the star who made a name for himself at St Mary's Stadium.