How signing of Tom Bischof impacts the midfield department at Bayern Munich? | OneFootball

With Bayern Munich set to announce the signing of 1899 Hoffenheim midfielder Tom Bischof on a free transfer this summer, what does this mean for the rest of Bayern Munich's midfield?

The undisputed first-choice midfielder at Bayern is Joshua Kimmich (though, he is yet to extend), and the second choice appears to be Aleksandar Pavlovic. Not far behind him is Joao Palhinha, with Leon Goretzka fourth choice. There are also Raphael Guerreiro and Konrad Laimer, though they have been required at full-back this season.

Where would Tom Bischof rank in the midfield hierarchy?

As touched on above, Kimmich's spot is safe. If he is to extend his contract, he will continue to be the cornerstone of Bayern's midfield. If he was to leave, things could get interesting. Will Bayern sign another midfield - or use a different combination from those they already have? The likelihood is they will sign a replacement, but not someone of the same caliber - increasing the competition in the center of the park.

Nevertheless, let's just assume he is going to extend in this hypothetical scenario. The midfield will be Kimmich - and one other. I think we can assume that Bischof will go ahead of Goretzka in the pecking order. Although he has played more lately, there was a time when the 29-year-old wasn't even in a match-day squad earlier this season.

The best thing about the Hoffenheim midfielder is that he is a unicorn of a player. Although very technically gifted - so much so he has played on the right hand side at times, and scored a direct free-kick against RB Leipzig - he is also an incredibly tenacious player, who is very good off the ball.

So far this season, the Hoffenheim midfielder makes 3.7 tackles per game - a whole .7 more than any other player in the league. Although there is the context of styles of play - this is two more a game than any other Bayern Munich player, which is very impressive even with context applied.

This gives the midfielder every chance of making the starting XI at Bayern. He could play next to Kimmich, freeing him up to get forward and create chances, whilst being a safety net himself who can put fires out. If, for whatever reason, Kimmich is unavailable, - he could play next to Pavlovic or Palhinha, and have the attacking burden on himself to make things happen. A complete midfield player.

It really cannot be overstated how good a signing this is, particularly on a free. If being really picky, perhaps the club could have tempted Hoffenheim with an offer to get their last chance of cashing in for the player - something like 10-15m - and have him for the run-in. This would give Bayern a chance to give Kimmich a rest in games like last night. Nevertheless, a brilliant pick-up in the long run for Die Roten.