Manchester United will have been grateful for the international break as a chance for Erik ten Hag to regroup and gather his thoughts ahead of a crucial few weeks ahead.
Having won the EFL Cup and secured qualification for the Champions League during his maiden season in charge, it looks as though second-season syndrome is setting in as United have lost six of their 11 matches so far.
It's clear that he needs more depth in his playing squad and while the summer transfer window saw the Red Devils sign the likes of Mason Mount, Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund, they haven’t had the desired impact thus far.
Hojlund has scored three times in the Champions League, yet is goalless in the Premier League and the Dutchman will need more from the youngster.
The Old Trafford side missed out on a variety of targets during the transfer window, most notably Victor Osimhen, Harry Kane and even Moises Caicedo as he looked to bolster his squad.
All three would’ve been wonderful signings, yet it is perhaps where United are in the current market that they didn’t make the move to Manchester.
It was another name which the Red Devils were linked with however that Ten Hag should make a more concrete effort to sign in the January transfer window – Joshua Kimmich.
Were Man Utd close to signing Joshua Kimmich?
Towards the end of the transfer window, reports in Spain suggested that Kimmich was emerging as a key target for the Dutchman ahead of the 2023/24 season.
With just two years left on his current contract, it appeared as though the summer represented the perfect opportunity for Bayern Munich to rake in a massive profit on the midfielder.
The move never materialised however and United ended up signing Fiorentina midfielder Sofyan Amrabat on deadline day as a way to strengthen in the middle of the park.
He joined on a season-long loan move with an option to buy for £21.4m but have the club managed to secure a solid deal, or are they better going back in for the German during the January transfer window?
What has Kimmich won in his career?
Since joining the Bavarian side back in 2015, the German has gone on to become one of the finest midfielders on the continent and has amassed 358 appearances for Bayern, while scoring 40 goals and grabbing 99 assists in the process.
His list of honours is just as impressive, with the 28-year-old winning the Champions League in 2020 alongside eight Bundesliga titles and a handful of other domestic trophies and there is no doubt United would have a player with a wonderful winning mentality should they lure him to England.
Bayern Munich
358
40
20
RB Leipzig
55
3
0
All stats via Transfermarkt.
His performances during the 2019/20 campaign led to lavish praise from Jose Mourinho, who said: "I see him as a top right-back, left-back, centre-back, No.6, No.8, No.10… he has the qualities to be anything!
"I think he looks to me, very intelligent related to football, very intelligent, understands the moments of the games and understands the difference between positions and understands what he has to do here and what he has to do there. I think he’s phenomenal, an absolutely phenomenal player."
High praise indeed and with United currently struggling so far this season, conceding 19 goals across just 11 games, they are clearly failing to win the midfield battles, resulting in some poor results and a drop in confidence.
Amrabat has been deployed as an emergency left-back due to injuries to Luke Shaw and Tyrrell Malacia, yet Kimmich would certainly be the better option in the heart of the pitch than the Moroccan.
Is Joshua Kimmich better than Sofyan Amrabat?
When compared to positional peers, Kimmich has showcased his talents across a range of metrics and he currently ranks in the top 8% for assists per 90 (0.24), top 5% for shot-creating actions per 90 (4.32), top 1% for passes attempted per 90 (87.63) and the top 3% for progressive passes per 90 (9.44), clearly indicating that he offers a solid threat going forward with come incisive passing.
In comparison, Amrabat when compared to positional peers, fails to rank in the top 50% for either assists (0.05) or shot-creating actions (1.77) per 90, while also doesn’t rank as highly as Kimmich for passes attempted per 90 (69.29) and progressive passes per 90 (7.12) and these metrics see him ranked in the top 11% and 14% respectively.
This suggests Kimmich has been the better performer throughout the course of the last 12 months and considering he is playing for one of the biggest teams in Europe makes these displays even better.
This season, the German has been in outstanding form, averaging 3.1 key passes per game, creating two big chances and grabbing three assists.
Amrabat on the other hand, has averaged one key pass per game, created zero big chances and also failed to register an assist. He has been playing out of position, however.
The Bayern gem has also outshone Amrabat defensively, making more tackles (2.3 to two), interceptions (one to 0.7) and has won a higher percentage of total duels per game (57% to 43%) proving he can contribute both going forward while also helping his side out defensively during matches.
Missing out on him back in the summer looks like a huge mistake by Ten Hag, and he must surely reignite another move for the 5 foot 9 ace when the winter transfer window opens up in a couple of months. It may, however, cost a pretty penny with Football Transfers valuing him at £48m.
His performances have been outstanding in recent months, and it looks as though he is going from strength to strength and United need some rejuvenation throughout the midfield area.
Casemiro is 31, so is Christian Eriksen and with Scott McTominay playing a bit part role, the next few transfer windows will be vital in establishing some depth in this area.
Kimmich is still in his peak years and given that he has won everything there has to be won in Germany, might a new challenge await itself in Manchester?
