It is no secret that Joshua Kimmich prefers to play in midfield as opposed to defense for both Bayern Munich and Germany. Despite his preference, he has deputized at right-back for both club and country in recent seasons, including his appearances for Germany at EURO 2024 and the bulk of last season at Bayern under Thomas Tuchel.
Fast forward to the start of this season, though, and Kimmich is back in Bayern’s midfield for new manager Vincent Kompany — in a way that works well for the overall squad balance. Last season under Tuchel, youngster Aleksandar Pavlović became a key feature in the center of Bayern’s midfield, most often alongside Leon Goretzka, who’s future at Bayern has been in question in recent weeks.
Per information from Sport Bild correspondent Christian Falk (via @iMiaSanMia), Kompany was not always sold on moving Kimmich back to midfield for this season for Bayern, but different conversations with both Max Eberl, Christoph Freund and the player himself helped him land on that ultimate decision.
Eberl had reportedly spoken with Kimmich ahead of the start of the new season to let him know he wanted a fresh start at the club, especially since his current contract at Bayern is set to expire next year. The club will eventually enter into talks with him over a new deal, though he would have to consider taking a pay cut since his current yearly wages are on the high end, which is something the club is consciously trying to make an effort to try and alleviate.
In mutual discussions between Kompany, Eberl, and Freund the trio agreed that Kimmich could be better suited in midfield, so long as he had a more defensive-minded midfielder alongside him. Kompany did not feel that Kimmich was a natural number 6, defensive midfielder. Now that the club has both João Palhinha and Pavlović in the ranks, there is room for Bayern to allow Kimmich not to have to have as much defensive responsibility in midfield. This sentiment was clearly communicated to Kimmich by Kompany, Eberl, and Freund.
Of course, the conundrum of playing time will certainly occur throughout the course of the season as Kimmich, Pavlović, and Palhinha cannot all play together at the same time in midfield. They will have to accept the fact that there will be times one of them might lose out on minutes to the other two players. Presumably, this issue will apply more to both Pavlović and Palhinha more so than Kimmich — the most established of the trio of midfielders.
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