Despite his return to midfield with the German national team, Joshua Kimmich must remain at right-back for Bayern Munich.
The international break didn’t prove as successful as the German national team would have hoped perhaps. Their Nations League draw against France and friendly victory over Peru were both a bit short of talking points. However, there was one key thing of note: the return of Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich to the center of the park.
Joachim Low, who ironically was the first to use Kimmich as a right-back, played the 23-year-old as a number six in both of Germany’s matches over the international break. The Nationalelf manager recognized that a lack of a good cover from midfield was part of his squad’s demise at the 2018 World Cup and saw Kimmich as a good fix for the issue.
Matthias Ginter, naturally a center-back, filled in for Kimmich. The Borussia Monchengladbach man wasn’t spectacular (he’s nowhere near Joshua Kimmich levels of good at right-back), but at best solid on the right side of defense.
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Kimmich is one of the most versatile players in the world. Though it might be hard to believe, last season was only his first playing as a right-back at club level. Throughout his years at Stuttgart, RB Leipzig and his first two seasons at Bayern, Kimmich was almost exclusively a central midfielder (Pep Guardiola used him as a center-back for a brief period in his final year at the club).
His recent displays with Germany from defensive midfield, however, have led many to speculate that he could also return to the center of the pitch at club level. But that’s not an option.
Niko Kovac is already spoiled for choice in midfield. Even with the club offloading both Arturo Vidal and Sebastian Rudy this summer, there may still be too many midfielders in Munich. Conversely, the Bavarians are lacking in quality full-back options. Kimmich’s only back-up is Rafinha, who also serves as understudy to David Alaba on the left side of the defense.
Moving Kimmich back to midfield not only makes no sense in light of Bayern’s personnel, but also in light of the sheer quality of Kimmich’s play as a right-back. After just one season playing in the position, Joshua is already one of the world’s best full-backs. Moving him away from the position would only create problems.
Kimmich himself even recognizes that there’s no need for him to return to midfield at club level, as he recently explained to Sport Bild.
"“I will not look for a conversation with [Niko Kovac] regarding this, I assume that I will continue to play as a right-back.”"
Not only should he stick with his position at Bayern, Kimmich shouldn’t be played in midfield for the national team either. He’s consistently been one of their best players over the past few years, always playing on the right side of defense. Rather than sacrificing the world’s best right-back to create a solid defensive midfielder, Joachim Low would be better off finding an alternative solution in midfield and keeping Kimmich in the position he plays for Bayern weekend after weekend throughout the season.
For Bayern Munich, there’s no doubt Joshua Kimmich is better suited playing at right-back, where he’s arguably the world’s best, than midfield. And though he may continue playing as a number six for Germany, Jogi Low would be better off searching for an alternative that doesn’t sacrifice one of his most effective players.