Arijon Ibrahimović has been in a strange position at Bayern Munich for a while. Seen as one of the two jewels of the academy alongside Paul Wanner for many years, Ibrahimović struggled hard in his quest to make the step up to professional football. His first loan to Salernitana in Serie A saw him accumulate under 600 minutes, but somehow it was deemed he was ready to be drafted into the first team for the 2024/25 season. 6 months and just 16 minutes of football later, it was clear to everyone involved
that the Germany U-20 international was not yet ready yet and he was shipped of to SS Lazio on loan, where he nearly played less minutes than at Bayern. Just 19 in total.
Finally, his third loan spell would be a success. He became a regular starter at FC Heidenheim in the Bundesliga and will return to Munich from the loan in good spirits, but with a contract until 2027 that needs to be reassessed. The question that now faces Bayern and the player is this: Is he ready yet to play for the first team? Can the Bavarians find space for him? Or does he need to move on to finally spread his wings and reach his potential?
Here are three reasons why he should stay at Bayern. Later, there will also be three reasons why he should not. This is a complicated situation.
Why Ibrahimović should stay
- Bundesliga proven LW
After two very underwhelming loans, the dual German/Kosovo citizen gambled again and went to a Bundesliga club instead of looking a level below. This time, the decision paid off and he showed what he is capable of to the entire Bundesliga. The 20-year-old played across all positions behind the striker but was used most in the LW position. He impressed with his dribbling, tenacity, inventiveness and creativity.
Though a lot of Heidenheim players struggled that season, Ibrahimović was not one of them. His scoring numbers of 2 goals and 4 assists may not seem impressive, but not only are they the joint most goal contributions of the entire team, his XG+xA numbers completely blow the others out of the water. Ibrahimović’s 12.44 xG+xA is one of the league’s better tallies and suggests that he got unlucky to not get more contributions. For the sake of comparison, TSG Hoffenheim’s Bazoumana Touré assembled less xG+xA than him despite playing for a team that challenged for the Champions League.
It was just one season but that season was a good indicator of. - Speed
Though Bayern Munich’s front four is imperious, it is missing some key attributes. Take, for example, the speed of the players. There have been times this past season the Bavarians had been pushed back into their own half and it seemed the team was crying out the ball to be played over the top for a fast runner to punish the opponent’s high defense. Unfortunately, the current Bayern team do not have a very rapid forward. According to Bundesliga.com, the players that recorded the highest top speed in the squad were full backs Konrad Laimer, Josip Stanišić and Alphonso Davies. Ouch.
But sitting just under Davies is Ibrahimović, whose top speed was measured to be at over 35 kilometers per hour. He is agile, too, able to get moving quite quickly and reach these high speeds in a short time. Considering Bayern targeted Anthony Gordon this transfer window, whose best asset is his pace, it seems the club knows the team can stand to add some speed. Instead of looking for an external solution, Bayern should consider the Bundesliga proven option sitting just under their noses. - Checks all the necessary boxes for Bayern: Cheap, versatile, good injury record
It was already mentioned that Ibrahimović played in a variety of positions at Heidenheim. He frequented the LW position but also frequently played in the middle or on the right. Really, he can play in many positions. This not only helps give Bayern more depth all over the field but also ensures he can get a satisfactory amount of playing time.
Ibrahimović also has a fairly strong injury record-or lack thereof, anyhow. He only missed 2 games all season for Heidenheim and, aside from a torn muscle bundle in 2024, has rarely had to battle serious injury issues. For Bayern’s small squad concept to work, players need to demonstrate they are not prone to injury and Ibrahimović does that.
And, of course, being a Campus graduate, he is quite cheap.
So Ibrahimović bolsters the LW position Bayern needs support with, brings the kind of speed the rest of the Bayern forwards simply do not possess and brings the kind of versatility and resistance to injury that Bayern needs from all their players.
So…what would be the issues with bringing him back?
Why Ibrahimović should go
- His time at Bayern could be nearing a natural end
Remember how Ibrahimović struggled in his previous loan spells and in his first spell in the Bayern first team? A lot of it came down to how he always gambled a little too much on his ability. He jumped from the Regionalliga Bayern, the fourth division in Germany, to a completely foreign country in Italy to join newly promoted Salernitana in the Serie A. It is not unfair to assume it was because it was one of the only offers he got from a team in a top division. But Salernitana had spent the entire summer assembling loan players from the likes of top clubs like Bayern and Real Madrid, so the German was mostly left on the sidelines during the season as Salernitana went down.
But Ibra continued to bet hard on himself, buying Bayern’s pitch that he could compete in the first team in 2024. Again, that did not work. So what does he do? He moves to SS Lazio, a team in Italy that was competing for Europe. AGAIN, he bet very hard on his ability to make a big jump and it did not work.
The point is this: Going to Heidenheim was still a gamble, but he was taking a step down from Lazio. Finally, he got to play regular minutes in professional football. He has mentioned how happy he is in Heidenheim, that he does not want to go on loan again and that he was not taken care of at previous clubs.
He was already burned once by becoming part of Bayern’s first team. Will Ibrahimović gamble again on getting game time at Bayern or will he choose to play regular minutes elsewhere? Bayern could use him but it seems Ibrahimović’s path is naturally leading him elsewhere. - Bayern need a more experienced winger on the bench
The Bavarians were roundly criticized for their small squad after a thin bench saw Nicolas Jackson emerge as the only attacking substitute in the Champions League semifinal first leg against Paris Saint Germain. Lennart Karl remains a superb talent but is just 18. If 20-year-old Ibrahimović became the first option off the bench for first choice LW Luis Díaz, then Bayern will be relying heavily on two very young players to carry the burden if Díaz or Michael Olise are unavailable. That might not be ideal.
This is the part of the article where you, the reader, are asked whether or not you think Ibrahimović should be brought back to the Bayern first team. Yay or nay? Tell us down below.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
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