Wanted by Liverpool and Man City – why Joshua Kimmich could leave Bayern Munich this summer

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Set to leave? 

©IMAGO

Bayern Munich spun the rumour mill into action this week when reports from Germany stated that the Bundesliga giants had withdrawn their offer of a new contract renewal for star midfielder Joshua Kimmich. First reported by Bild and then later confirmed by Kicker, the publications claimed that the Munich side had changed their mind over an extension to Kimmich’s current deal, which is expected to expire at the end of this current season. The German international was reportedly taking his time to consider Bayern’s new offer, which in turn made the club question his intentions. As things currently stand, Kimmich will depart Bayern at the end of this season for free and that has naturally led to a huge amount of speculation over which European giant will pick up the 30-year-old talent in the summer. 

Why would Kimmich leave Bayern? 

While there’s little doubt that Kimmich is one of the first names on Vincent Kompany’s team sheet each and every weekend, the Germany international has long been considered a jack-of-all-trades at the Allianz Arena. Which, in turn, also makes him a master of none. Since making the move to Bayern in 2015, the Rottweil-native has made 426 appearances for the club. That, undoubtedly, makes Kimmich an integral part of the Munich club’s squad. However, on closer inspection, the former Stuttgart prospect has been used in a vast array of positions. For example, while he’s played as a defensive midfielder in 240 games for Bayern, he’s also played as a right-back in 128 games, as a No.8 in 26 games, as a central defender in 23 games and was even tasked with playing as a right winger in four games.

When we consider Kimmich’s total game time in the Bundesliga over the last 10 seasons and plot what percentage of that was played as a central or defensive midfielder, we get a graph like the one above. Which should perfectly illustrate the frustrations that the player may be having at the German club. While Kimmich has had a number of seasons where he’s played predominantly in the middle of the pitch, he has often found his game time in that position vary dramatically. So much so that over the course of his time at Bayern, he’s only played in his preferred role on average 63% of the time. 

Such numbers clearly point to Kimmich’s many talents and the versatility he can show on the football pitch, but it also underlines the point that the Germany international isn’t exactly considered to be Bayern’s first-choice right back or central playmaker, but rather a player that can fill in if or when the club don’t have a better option in either position. As such, as the 30-year-old talent now considers how the final chapter of his career will play out, few could blame Kimmich for considering all of his options and seeking out a club that would prefer to play him in his preferred position because he’s their best player for the job, rather than treat him as a useful back-up for a number of positions across the pitch. 

Who could sign Kimmich this summer?

In terms of recent reports linking the midfielder with a departure from Bayern in the summer, so far only two clubs have been routinely linked with a move for Kimmich: Liverpool and Real Madrid. However, a move by either club could prove to be highly unlikely in the coming weeks. At Anfield, Liverpool manager Arne Slot already has a well-settled midfield of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai and a move to sign Kimmich as a potential replacement for right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold is unlikely to entice the German international to the Premier League. Equally, while a move to Madrid can never be ruled out for any player, the LaLiga giants already have ample depth in midfield in the form of Aurélien Tchouaméni, Eduardo Camavinga, Jude Bellingham and Federico Valverde, who currently plays a similar role to Kimmich in filling in at both central midfield and right back. 

Rumour

J. Kimmich

Defensive Midfield

Bayern Munich		?		Man City
Bundesliga				Premier League

Rumour

J. Kimmich

Defensive Midfield

Bayern Munich		13 %		Liverpool
Bundesliga				Premier League

Instead, should Kimmich leave Bayern in the summer, it seems more likely that two other clubs will be the only ones with the means and gaps in their squad to entice the German international away from Munich. The first is most likely Barcelona, where Kimmich could reunite with former head coach Hansi Flick and teammate Robert Lewandowski. The Catalan giants do have a number of midfielders, but may be forced to sell Frenkie de Jong when he enters the final year of his contract this summer. The other club are Manchester City, who are expected to part ways with a number of midfielders, such as Bernardo Silva, Kevin de Bruyne, Kalvin Phillips and İlkay Gündoğan at the end of the season. And having worked with him at Bayern, Pep Guardiola may be exceptionally excited by the prospect of signing Kimmich if he truly is available to sign this summer.