Why a new contract for Joshua Kimmich may be a huge risk for Bayern Munich

The Bayern midfielder has been a wonderful servant for the Munich giants, but building Vincent Kompany's new team around him may be a recipre for disaster.

Such is the nature of Bayern Munich's worldwide support and the media frenzy that feasts off that constant attention that any opportunity to ask the club’s hierarchy about the future of their players is taken without a moment’s hesitation. Even if it happens to come right after a game which left most fans wondering whether or not the vast majority of Vincent Kompany’s squad were worth keeping beyond the current season.

Indeed, one agent who may not have appreciated their client being thrust back into the limelight after Bayern’s torrid display against Celtic in Tuesday night’s Champions League play-off was Joshua Kimmich’s. As the club’s playmaker-in-chief, the German international faced as much criticism as any of Bayern’s stars following a tired and entirely uninspiring display. And yet, once the full time whistle had blown and the media had rushed down to the mixed zone in the belly of the Allianz Arena, Max Eberl & Co. quickly had to switch gears and begin explaining how vital the 29-year-old midfielder will be to Bayern’s plans next season.

"I'm cautiously optimistic. We know how much he appreciates Bayern, the team and the coach,” said club president Herbert Hainer when asked about Kimmich extending his contract beyond its expiry date this summer. “A few things happened last season that made him think twice. But now the situation is different. Of course the process will still take time because this will probably be his last really big contract." However, it was what was said once the microphones were turned off that would have perhaps intrigued Bayern fans far more.

According to Sport-Bild, who just so happened to speak to Hainer, the Munich giants would consider their preparations for next season more or less done if they were to sign Kimmich to a new deal. As the newspaper states, Bayern’s hierarchy believe there would be no need for “expensive signings”, following long-term deals for Alphonso Davies, Jamal Musiala and Kimmich and any new recruits would need to be financed with the sale of unwanted stars in Kompany’s squad.

Not only does such a report suggest that Bayern are, worryingly, content with the team that has creaked and groaned its way through the season, but that they also think the plan for Kompany to build upon an inevitable Bundesliga title to then return to the top table of European football is to build yet another team around Kimmich in midfield. And that strikes me as an extremely risky assumption to make at this moment in time.