When Bayern Munich made the signing of Hiroki Itō from VfB Stuttgart official, it was utterly unexpected and a shot out of the blue, but many accepted that the transfer made sense. After all, he would either give Bayern more depth at the left-back position (with the current mainstay at left-back, Alphonso Davies, making his desire to play for Champions League winners Real Madrid very clear) or at the center-back position, where his addition would once again introduce a left-footed center-back into the mix. But which of those roles is he going to play?
About a month on from his signing, the media and the fans were still none the wiser. Perhaps Christoph Freund’s comments on Itō following his official presentation cleared things up. As captured by @iMiaSanMia, Bayern’s sporting director had this to say: “With Hiroki Itō we have signed a center-back who is very good with the ball. He has developed excellently in recent years and I am convinced that he has not yet reached his limit. We are very happy that he’s with us.”
So is that it? Will he be deployed at center-back? Or, as the Davies saga rages on, will he be forced to pick up any possible slack in the fullback position? Perhaps future friendlies will be able to give us a hint before the season truly starts.
Looking for more thoughts and analysis on Bayern Munich’s roller coaster ride of a transfer window, plus what the plans might be for Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka moving forward? What about something that fans should positive about? Good, then we have you covered with the Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show, where we hit on all of that and more! You can get the podcast on Patreon, Spotify, or below: