It’s very, very rare that one of the best midfielders in world football is available on the transfer market, but that might be the case this summer with Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich.
The 29-year-old has won it all during a glittering nine-year stay in Bavaria, but it’s understood the German is considering a new challenge in the summer – something that Bayern may be willing to faciliate as he heads into the final year of his contract.
Reports in Kimmich’s homeland suggest he’s willing to speak to five clubs about a potential move – Arsenal, Barcelona, Liverpool, Manchester City and Real Madrid – and each would undoubtedly have a place in their squad for the versatile midfielder.
The real question is which club would suit Kimmich best were he to bring his career at Bayern to an end?
Considering that Real Madrid currently have *takes a deep breath* Jude Bellingham, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Eduardo Camavinga, Federico Valverde, Brahim Diaz, Aurelien Tchoumeni, Dani Ceballos and Arda Guler on their books, we doubt they need another midfielder.
Still, that’s never stopped the 14-time Champions League winners from entering the market before.
Fit? 1/10
As their signing of Ilkay Gundogan attests, Barcelona do love signing a quality German midfielder.
And, unlike Madrid, due to the myriad of consistent injury concerns that have plagued Pedri in particular, they do also need a player of Kimmich’s ilk.
The problem? Well, problemssss: Barcelona’s financial situation will likely ensure that the club don’t have the capacity to sign Kimmich, and the uncertainty over who will actually be the club’s manager next season will probably deter him from making the move too.
Fit? 3/10
Liverpool’s complete overhaul of their midfield in a single transfer is something to be admired.
However, there is a still a bit of work to be done.
Kimmich could be a nice utility option for the Reds to ease the load on the likes of Wataru Endo, Alexis Mac Allister and co. next season, and if Xabi Alonso takes charge, he could even play the role Granit Xhaka has expertly played for Bayer Leverkusen for the Reds.
Fit? 6/10
Last summer, Arsenal signed a game-changing midfielder in Declan Rice.
Could they do the same with Kimmich this summer?
The German does tick a lot of boxes in Mikel Arteta’s system, potentially being a better Jorginho than Jorginho is in his dynamic and creative midfield three.
Fit? 8/10
A transfer has probably never made more sense.
Kimmich became a genuinely world class player under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola, and if he’s keen to get back to that level, then he should jump at the chance to work with the Manchester City manager again.
He would slot seamlessly into Guardiola’s dynamic tactical set-up, potentially playing as a midfielder, full-back or even a centre-back for City.
Fit? 10/10
