Bayern Munich: Five Things to look forward to in 2020

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DOHA, QATAR – JANUARY 06: (BILD ZEITUNG OUT) Joshua Zirkzee of FC Bayern Muenchen, Jann-Fiete Arp of FC Bayern Muenchen and Leon Goretzka of FC Bayern Muenchen battle for the ball during day three of the FC Bayern Muenchen winter training camp on January 6, 2020, in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by TF-Images/Bongarts/Getty Images) /

Youth Development

I think this one is obvious, especially since coach Hansi Flick has started giving debuts and minutes to players from our youth academy. But the question is what’s the next step for some of these players? The three players that come to mind in this aspect are Joshua Zirkzee, Mickael Cuisance, and Jann Fiete Arp. Zirkzee has made a rather significant contribution to the campaign already while the other two have made minimal or zero contribution.

Zirkzee has been used as a late-game substitute this season and twice scored winning goals for Die Roten. One against Freiburg and one against Wolfsburg, both to keep Bayern within reasonable striking distance in the Bundesliga title race. We all know Robert Lewandowski will get the vast majority of minutes at the striker position. If Zirkzee can continue developing and making contributions when given chances, then we should see him on the field much more regularly.

The other two players, Arp and Cuisance, haven’t made any notable contribution to Bayern’s cause this campaign. Arp was bought from Hamburg in summer and was meant to be doing what Zirkzee has done. He was supposed to be the main backup to Lewandowski. The young German forward had a promising preseason, giving a bright performance against Real Madrid in the International Champion’s Cup. Injuries have derailed that plan though and he is yet to make his competitive debut for Die Roten. Hopefully, that comes this year or he gets a loan move so he can get regular first-team minutes to continue his development.

Lastly, Cuisance has been quite the disappointment of this campaign. Bought at the end of the summer from Borussia Monchengladbach as a replacement for Renato Sanches, we all thought he would be at least a regular backup for the main midfielders of the squad. That has shown to not be the case and he has even been demoted to the reserve squad. This is especially discouraging considering he was one of Monchengladbach’s main contributors back in the 2017/2018 campaign. Hopefully, he can find his form again and can start making contributions in 2020.