Stefan Effenberg sees Joshua Kimmich as the perfect heir to Manuel Neuer as FC Bayern captain. “His demeanor in interviews shows that he would be perfect to be a worthy successor,” says the former Bayern professional SPORT1.
“If Neuer quits, I see Kimmich’s role.” He has already been doing an excellent job in the national team since Ilkay Gündogan’s resignation.
Most recently, Bayern sports director Max Eberl emphasized that he wanted to make it attractive to Kimmich to extend his contract, which expires next summer, by giving him even more responsibility: “We say he should become the captain of FC Bayern if Manuel Neuer isn’t at some point there is more on the pitch. And we let him know that he should become a face of our club. We told him that clearly and we stand behind it,” Eberl explained Sports picture.
Thanks to strong performances, Kimmich has recently made himself indispensable in the midfield center at FC Bayern and is an undisputed top performer. The player’s power in contract negotiations is likely to be correspondingly great SPORT1-Expert Effenberg makes it clear: “Joshua Kimmich should not forget what he has at FC Bayern. This is a very crucial point.”
Kimmich has “a lot to thank the club for. He was moved back to midfield, where he sees himself. He has once again become a central player who shapes the team.” That is why the financial structure of the contract should not be an obstacle.
Eberl recently made it clear that an agreement had to be reached on three points. “This concerns the sporting aspect, the perspective, but also the financial aspect.” There is a “very, very open” approach to this with Kimmich, who has not wanted to lean too far out of the window in recent weeks when it comes to the state of things . “I am in contact with FC Bayern and that will continue to be the case. It’s a very important decision for my career.”
He also emphasized that his standing in the not too distant past was completely different. “We all know what my situation was eight to ten weeks ago. You had the feeling: When will Kimmich finally be gone? Now things look different again,” he revealed during the recent international break.
Effenberg, on the other hand, is convinced that Kimmich’s chapter at FC Bayern, which has been going on since 2015, will not be over after the end of the season. Regarding a possible contract extension, he says: “I strongly assume that it will work.”
The fact that Kimmich played in all of Munich’s competitive games over the full season this season clearly shows how serious the 29-year-old’s departure would be.
