Bayern Munich midfielder Joshua Kimmich is no stranger to transitioning roles.
During his time at Bayern Munich, Kimmich made a few appearances as a center-back, played extensively at right-back, and then settled into his role in the team’s double-pivot midfield.
Teaming mostly with Leon Goretzka, the duo really became set into defined roles with Kimmich as the No. 6 and Goretzka as the box-to-box No. 8…until this season. Somewhere along the way during the 2022/23 campaign, Kimmich has start shifting to a more offensive role, which some have theorized to have caused an imbalance in the midfield’s cohesion.
When asked if he saw the need for a defensive-minded No. 6 that would allow him to roam more freely up the pitch, Kimmich brushed off the notion — without outright denying that he wants to transition (again) to a different role.
“What we need now is four wins, after that we can talk. I’m not thinking about that. We have a great squad and it’s up to us to give everything and win our games — then we’ll see,” Kimmich told Sky Sport journalist Florian Plettenberg (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).
It is unclear what Kimmich wants to do moving forward — and also what Thomas Tuchel has planned for him, but whatever he decides will likely send ripples through the club’s squad planning for next season.
If you are interested in the breakdown of Kimmich’s role over the years, this is how it has played out by position per Transfermarkt:
- Defensive Midfield: 206 games — 24 goals, 54 assists
- Right-back: 111 games — 10 goals, 40 assists
- Central Midfield: 64 games — 7 goals, 6 assists
- Center-back: 22 games — 2 goals, 0 assists
- Right Midfield: 6 games — 0 goals, 0 assists
