Steffan Effenberg says Bayern Munich’s current midfield group is good enough

Now that Bayern Munich has finally secured the transfer of Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur, they’ve had a pretty successful summer transfer window thus far. However, there are still gaps they need to fill before September 1st. They’re still trying to find a keeper to act as the number one until Manuel Neuer gets back to 100% fitness even though they still have Sven Ulreich in the ranks, but Thomas Tuchel also still wants a defensive midfielder.

Declan Rice was Tuchel’s preferred transfer target for the No. 6 midfielder role, but the England international preferred a move to Arsenal from West Ham United. Since he completed that blockbuster move to the North London club that finished second in the Premier League last season, there’ve been a handful of players loosely linked with Bayern, but nothing has progressed to a concrete level.

Former Bayern player Steffan Effenberg said he feels the club already has internal solutions for the defensive midfield position and doesn’t need to make a big-money signing this summer. “I don’t understand the problem with holding six. Somebody can play the holding six. We mustn’t forget: Bayern won the Champions League (in 2020) with (Joshua) Kimmich and (Leon) Goretzka. Sure, they have to stretch. But they can do it,” he rationalized.

Tuchel has been showing a preference of using Konrad Laimer alongside Kimmich in the midfield pivot, but in the same regard as Goretzka, the former RB Leipzig man could, in theory, also occupy more of a defensive role. This would give Kimmich more freedom to roam forward, which is something that Tuchel prefers, even though Kimmich himself can also play as a No. 6 if needed.

“With the national team we celebrated the two on the double six. So I don’t see any need to spend 60, 80 or 100 million on a holding six,” Effenberg continued, making note of the fact that Kimmich and Goretzka often started alongside one another in midfield for the German national team.

Effenberg’s sentiment is certainly a much cheaper alternative than signing a decent defensive midfielder before the summer transfer window closes, but it’s ultimately up to Tuchel and Bayern’s front office. It was Lothar Matthäus that recently said he felt Goretzka was played out of position too often last season, partially accounting for his decline in performances and, ultimately, starting minutes under Tuchel. Perhaps if he’s used more as a number 6, he will start to play more or have better performances, but it’s a solution Tuchel, the coaching staff, and the front office ultimately need to decide upon.