Bayern Munich’s signing of Hiroki Ito was a quite surprising one, coming out of almost absolutely nowhere as the media only caught on about the deal a day before it was completed. Considering how the media likes to dissect every single rumor and offer endless opinions on it, Bayern fans were left with a relative lack of information on Ito and his fit into Bayern’s squad. So fans would be forgiven for asking: “Why Ito?”
Bayern Munich’s Director of Sport Max Eberl has an answer, though. Talking to SportBild, as captured by @iMiaSanMia, Eberl had this to say: “We’ve already had Hiroki on our list for a long time due to his performances and his development. Squad planning means signing players who you need for the right mix, for the right composition of the squad and with whom you can change the system in the game without subbing them off. So it’s very valuable that Hiroki can play in different positions.”
The different positions Eberl is talking about would seem to be the center back and left back roles Ito was highly proficient in rotating between at former club VfB Stuttgart. Just how much does Bayern want to use that versatility? With left-back Alphonso Davies’ contract running out next summer, do not be surprised to Ito gathering a lot of minutes at the position under new head coach Vincent Kompany.