The Bundesliga has provided plenty of excitement this season.
Bayer Leverkusen are surprisingly topping the table, but even more unexpected has been the rise of VfB Stuttgart. Sebastian Hoeneß has turned the Swabians from relegation battlers into European challengers and his side sit third after the first half of the season, the Hinrunde.
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Champions League participants Borussia Dortmund and Union Berlin have been the major disappointments so far, with the former riven by a player mutiny and the latter fighting to stay in the league.
As is so often the case with the German top flight, attackers have stolen the show and this term, the likes of Serhou Guirassy, Harry Kane, Victor Boniface and Lois Openda have all starred offensively - but only two of them make our best XI.
Here is FootballTransfers' Bundesliga Team of the Season so far...
FootballTransfers’ Bundesliga League Team of the Season so far
Arguably the only Borussia Dortmund who has consistently impressed this term, Gregor Kobel has shown why he is considered one of Europe's best goalkeepers both domestically and in the Champions League.
Rewarded with a new deal, the Swiss shot-stopper has not rested on his laurels and bailed out Edin Terzic's underperforming side on more than one occasion.
One of many Bayer Leverkusen players to feature in this team (spoiler alert), Jeremie Frimpong has been nothing short of outstanding this term, although it is somewhat erroneous to classify him as a traditional right-back. He's more of a wing-back and even that is quickly becoming an obsolete descriptor as he is more wing than back at this point.
The Dutchman has been spectacular going forward for the Werkself and contributed with an impressive five goals and seven assists in 16 games. No wonder Man Utd and Real Madrid are interested in him.
A decidedly average player for most of his career, playing under Sebastian Hoeneß has given Waldemar Anton a new lease on life in the Bundesliga. The Uzbekistan-born Stuttgart captain has been rock solid this season and has looked like a completely different player.
High-flying Stuttgart have conceded the fourth-fewest goals in the division and Anton has been the leader who has marshalled this stout backline. The 27-year-old has been so impressive that some outlets began linking him with Arsenal not long ago.
Any of Bayer Leverkusen's three starting centre-backs could feature here, but we have decided to give the nod to Odilon Kossounou ahead of Chelsea-linked Jonathan Tah and Man Utd-linked Edmond Tapsoba.
Table-topping Leverkusen boast the best defence in the league this season but we have picked Kossounou not just for his solid defensive work. The Ivorian has become something of a playmaker under Xabi Alonso and he often goes on marauding runs up the pitch where he combines excellently with his more attack-minded teammates.
While all three of Leverkusen's centre-backs have shown themselves to be top-class defenders this term, Kossounou has been the club's unsung hero this term because of his ability to get involved further forward.
Rounding off the defence is yet another Werkself star, but how could we possibly ignore Alejandro Grimaldo? The Spaniard has been such a revelation this season that he has become a senior Spain international at 28 years of age!
With seven goals and six assists, Grimaldo has arguably been even better than his Dutch counterpart on the right and the left-back has stunned fans with his spectacular shooting technique on more than one occasion.
Be it from set pieces or open play, Grimaldo's deliveries are deadly and when nobody is there to finish them off, well, he'll just do it himself. He has been an incredible signing and he didn't cost Alonso's side a single penny.
Another Leverkusen player? Another Leverkusen player. And he won't be the last. Like Grimaldo, Granit Xhaka has been a revelation this season and his midfield partner Exequiel Palacios is unfortunate to miss out.
Xhaka has added steel and stability to Leverkusen's midfield. The former Arsenal man rarely gives away the ball and often gets involved offensively as well. Moreover, he has shown himself to be a real leader, using all his experience to help the rest of his teammates keep a cool head in the midst of an unexpected title challenge.
Like Palacios, Stuttgart's Atakan Karazor and Frankfurt's Hugo Larsson are two players who deserve an honourable mention but just miss out.
We're cheating a bit here because Florian Wirtz is more of an attacking midfielder, a number ten, but we're playing a 4-4-2 due to the wealth of attacking options at our disposal, so he has to feature in a more withdrawn role.
The German wonderkid has been in sensational form since recovering from his ACL injury and he's arguably a better player now than he was pre-ACL. His silky smooth skills and vision make him a joy to watch, but he doesn't just dribble for the sake of it, he is super effective.
The 20-year-old has notched five goals and seven assists so far this term and is expected to fetch the Werkself at least €100 million in 2024 or 2025.
Finally, the first Bayern player in our team. Leroy Sane has been arguably Europe's most in-form winger during the first half of the 2023/24 season, though his form did drop off a bit the closer we got to the winter break.
The German international has formed a brilliant partnership with record-signing Harry Kane and the two have formed the Bundesliga's deadliest duo. Sane has eight goals and eight assists in 15 Bundesliga outings so far this season.
Bayern annihilated the Bundesliga transfer record to land Tottenham legend Harry Kane and the investment has paid off. Kane has been nothing short of a transfer coup for the Bavarians, though it is quite ironic that Bayern only find themselves second in the table despite his signing.
Kane leads both the Bundesliga Golden Boot and European Golden Shoe races and he could conceivably break Robert Lewandowski's single-season scoring record of 41 goals. The England star has found the net 21 times in 15 Bundesliga outings, also notching five assists.
An even bigger sensation than Kane has arguably been Serhou Guirassy, simply because his rise to prominence has come much more unexpectedly. Already impressive while on loan at Stuttgart last season, the Guinean has taken things to another level since signing permanently.
Most of Europe's biggest clubs have been linked with the 27-year-old because he has notched a stunning 17 goals in 14 league outings. His teammate Deniz Undav, Leverkusen's Victor Boniface and Leipzig's Lois Openda have also starred this season.
Though he has mostly featured at right-wing this campaign, we simply had to get Xavi Simons in here. The former Barcelona man and current PSG loanee has been Leipzig's best player this season.
The 20-year-old has notched four goals and seven assists and has been virtually ever-present for the Red Bulls. The Dutchman is a creative monster and has consistently stolen the show with his skills and link-up play.
Special mentions, however, also need to go out to Stuttgart's Chris Führich, Freiburg's Vincenzo Grifo and Jan-Niklas Beste of promoted Heidenheim, who are more traditional left-wingers and have also been brilliant this term.
