Man City Square
Fansided

City Transfer Target Evaluation — Part 3 (Right-Back)

By Taras Tataryn

Pablo Zabaleta, a true Manchester City legend, waves goodbye to City fans at the Etihad for the last time.
Pablo Zabaleta, a true Manchester City legend, waves goodbye to City fans at the Etihad for the last time. /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 7
Next

Joshua Kimmich — Bayern Munchen (German international)

Rating: 8.7/10

Likelihood: 2.5/5

DORTMUND, GERMANY – MARCH 05: Head coach Pep Guardiola (L) of Bayern Munich gives advices to Joshua Kimmich after the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern Muenchen at Signal Iduna Park on March 5, 2016 in Dortmund, Germany.bs (Photo by Boris Streubel/Getty Images)
DORTMUND, GERMANY – MARCH 05: Head coach Pep Guardiola (L) of Bayern Munich gives advices to Joshua Kimmich after the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern Muenchen at Signal Iduna Park on March 5, 2016 in Dortmund, Germany.bs (Photo by Boris Streubel/Getty Images) /

In my mind, Kimmich would be another perfect summer signing. Like Henrichs, Kimmich is able to play in different areas on the pitch. Moreover, he is a proven performer at the top level (club and internationally).

After beginning his career with Stuttgart, it was the 2015 season with Bayern that he really made a name for himself under none other than Pep Guardiola. Having played center back early on his career, under Pep he played CB, right-back, and also in the right midfield in a 4-3-3. Kimmich’s versatility is impressive and it all stems from his high football intelligence and development under Guardiola.

Like most on this list, Kimmich’s pace, concentration and confidence on the ball, passing ability, and tackling is what makes him great at the right-back position. This is also what makes him a perfect Guardiola right-back. On top of all of this, he is able to play in many positions like we all know. His versatility would be key in a Manchester City team that lacks depth in these types of positions at the moment.

Rating Explanation: 

Kimmich is still young (22 years old), but I see him as the future in the right-back position and the future of that Bayern Munich team. Phillip Lahm just said his final goodbyes to the Bayern Munich team, so you would think that Kimmich would slot right in. It’s definitely not a huge drop in talent, but rather in experience. However, Kimmich already has a lot of that under his belt thanks to Pep and surely has the potential to be a Lahm-caliber player. I can’t wait to see where this lad’s future lies.

Likelihood: 

Kimmich may not have been happy with the season he has had, but he has come out publicly to say that “It’s a fact I don’t want to leave Bayern Munich” (ESPN FC). Reports had him leaving at the end of the season, but he, and Rummenigge mentioned that these reports were “simply false” (ESPN FC). Thus, the very low likelihood rating on the German wonderkid.

At the beginning of the season I would have thought that Kimmich would have a reason to join Pep at City. However, with Lahm leaving and being at such a wonderful club as Bayern Munich, I just don’t see this one happening.

Strengths:

  • Concentration and Football IQ
  • Pace
  • Passing + Possession
  • Versatility
  • Tackling

Weaknesses:

Aerial Ability

Physical strength

Home/Man City News