'The best is yet to come!': Nelson makes his mark in Germany

The Brexit negotiations may be dragging on with little sign of an agreement in sight, but the uncertainty hasn't stopped some of Britain's best young footballing talent from taking the plunge and moving to Germany.

And after Oliver Burke's time with Red Bull in Leipzig didn't work out and Reece Oxford's loan spell with Borussia Mönchengladbach came to an end, two more British teenagers are enjoying life on the continent this season.

Jadon Sancho has captured the headlines since turning his back on Pep Guardiola and Manchester City to join Borussia Dortmund, and his third-minute strike against Stuttgart on Saturday was the eighth Dortmund goal he has been involved in already this season.

But Sancho was out-shone this weekend by a fellow English teenager as Arsenal loanee Reiss Nelson scored two goals in six minutes for Hoffenheim, taking his total for the season to four goals in four games.

First, he swiveled quickly inside the box to volley home Pavel Kaderabek's cut-back from seven yards out and draw Hoffenheim level away at Nuremberg. Then, just six minutes later, he was on hand to fire his side into the lead from a tight angle.

"Reiss Nelson the match-winner," headlined local paper Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung. "Nelson ends Nagelsmann's losing run," added tabloid BILD after three straight defeats to RB Leipzig, Manchester City and Eintracht Frankfurt.

It was good of Nelson to repay to the favor; after all, 31-year-old Julian Nagelsmann was one of the main reasons the 18-year-old Londoner decided to come on loan to Hoffenheim in the first place.

“A loan wasn’t always my first option, but when I heard the Bundesliga and Hoffenheim was an option for me and working with the manager there, it was something I wanted to do," he told the English football association's official website.

“Julian’s a great manager and he’s got belief in young players so it’s a good place for me to go and play. I think it’s important to go to a team and a coach who believes in you, so he was the main reason because he is willing to play us."

But Nagelsmann wasn't the only reason. Nelson grew up just 2.5 kilometers away from Jadon Sancho in central London, and the Dortmund youngster also had a word.

"I spoke to Jadon about Germany," Nelson told English media. "I'm a quick player and I'm good in one-on-one situations, and Jadon said that those situations occur a lot in the Bundesliga."

Nelson found himself in precisely such a situation on his Hoffenheim debut away at Fortuna Düsseldorf on Matchday 3. He had only been on the pitch for 14 minutes after coming on as a second-substitute when he used his pace to burst into the Düsseldorf box and fire home a left-footed equalizer.

"What he brings with his tempo and his one-on-one ability, we didn't have so much of that in the squad," said Nagelsmann. "Reiss is a player whose qualities can be compared to those of Serge Gnabry, but just not as well developed."

The Bundesliga is building on its reputation as the perfect place for that development to take place. Indeed, according to British media, all 18 Bundesliga clubs sent scouts to England's recent under-17 win over Brazil. But Nelson has already taken the biggest step.

"Reiss is totally unfazed and eager to learn," said Hoffenheim teammate and Bundesliga veteran Kevin Vogt at full-time in Nuremberg.

"I'm only just starting, and it's going well at the moment," said Nelson himself. "The best Reiss is yet to come."