"I believe that Bayern München, who have been criticized a fair bit on their transfer business these past few months (...) might have made one of the sweetest deals amongst all the big summer signings in international football. His name? Benjamin Pavard. (...)
The most logical question to ask now would in fact be: why? (...) The answer is rather simple. Because the arrival of a dependable right back has promptly given Der Rekordmeister one of the best – if not the best – midfield duo’s in all of European club football. The presence of Pavard on the roster has provided manager Niko Kovac with a legitimate option at the right side of defense, which has opened up the door for Joshua Kimmich to move up to a spot in the heart of Bayern’s midfield, right next to the oft-injured, but excellent Thiago Alcántara. This midfield is good, y’all.
Yes, there was, or is, a strong case to be made that Kimmich might have been the best right-back in all of European football for the past few seasons. (...) {But} Kimmich is the poster child for the wave of tactical and technical innovation that swept through German in the last decade plus: he’s lightning-quick as a decision-maker, has always been smart beyond his years in positional play, reacts fast, possesses good ball-control with both feet, applies pressure on the ball in a rather relentless way, hounds passing lanes and, maybe most importantly for a player in his tactical role, is the type of star player that can also excel in a non-star-role. Which, at Bayern, is kind of a big deal."
