Karl-Heinz Rummenigge admits that Bayern Munich could make a signing in the midfield department.
Bayern Munich has started their pre-season tour this week. The Bundesliga champions will be getting match practice by playing three games in the International Champions Cup. Apart from pre-season plans, Bayern has a massive task of making key additions to the first-team squad.
Die Roten currently has very few options in wide attacking positions. The German club is hoping to sign at least one winger to improve the quality of the attack. They are currently struggling to sign their primary transfer targets in this position.
Bayern has also been trying to sign a top-class defensive midfielder. The Bavarians missed out on Atletico Madrid’s Rodrigo Hernandez as the Spaniard favored a move to Manchester City. Speaking to media (via Sport1) on Tuesday, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge admitted that the club will still try to sign a midfielder. The club chief also insisted that pace is not the most important aspect of a player in this midfield position.
"“We’ll possibly still improve the midfield.”“The best midfielder we’ve probably had in the last ten years was Xabi Alonso, a strategist who worked like a general, but he was not fast. He was great, though.”"
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Niko Kovac has previously admitted that Bayern currently lacks a dominating player in the number six position. Javi Martinez is the only traditional defensive midfielder in the squad. The Spaniard is not a long term solution for this position, though. There were doubts over his future in Bavaria but he is now looking likely to stay at least for one more season.
Thiago Alcantara has a tremendous passing range for this role, but he remains defensively vulnerable in this position. He was deployed in this position by Kovac on numerous occasions last season. The likes of Renato Sanches, Corentin Tolisso and Leon Goretzka are at their best when they are used close to the final third.
After missing out on Rodri, Bayern has been linked with a move for Espanyol’s Marc Roca. The 21-year-old midfielder was one of the key players for Spain in UEFA Euros U-21 competition. Die Roten has been previously linked with Bourdeaux’s Aurelien Tchouameni. The French midfielder is considered as one of the most promising midfield talents in Ligue 1.
Joshua Kimmich is another option for Bayern in the defensive midfield position. He plays in this position for the National team. There have been reports in the past few weeks suggesting Die Roten’s interest in Joao Cancelo and Kieran Trippier. If there is some truth in these reports then Kovac is surely planning to play Kimmich in midfield consistently.