Javi Martnez, a former midfielder for Bayern Munich, offered his opinion on the Rekordmeister’s late transfer window search for a defensive midfielder, which seems to alternately cool down or heat up by the day, as well as the necessity of a holding midfielder to contain the ultra-attacking inclinations of the Bavarians.
The comments made by Martnez were recorded by Bild journalist Nico Linner (via @iMiaSanMia). “Bayern always have the ball and attack with many players at the same time,” Linner reported. “The issue is that this makes room for risky counterattacks by the adversary. Because of this, I think Bayern is in dire need of a player who is constantly alert to these potential threats. someone who, while not always contributing offensively, also considers what to do in the event that the ball is lost. This method of play, which Pep Guardiola coined “defending with the ball,” entails keeping an eye out for openings and opportunities for a counterattack even while in possession of the ball.
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Joo Palhinha’s impending transfer from Fulham FC to Bayern Munich suggests that the matter is about to be resolved from this perspective, but Martinez had some intriguing observations on the makeup of the midfield.
The spine of Bayern’s midfield used to benefit from some of this from Martnez himself. Despite the fact that Joshua Kimmich is a world-class No. 6, he believes the squad would greatly benefit from having this profile.
Martnez said of Kimmich, “He’s a wonderful No. 6, but he sticks out offensively. Tuchel wants him to concentrate more on producing than on destroying because of this. It reminded me of my time with [Bastian] Schweinsteiger. Basti was able to focus on the offensive side since I was standing behind him and Luiz Gustavo was. Tuchel reportedly want a player who is more defensively minded than offensively, as there isn’t one on the present roster. Ryan Gravenberch and Leon Goretzka are both excellent offensive midfielders.