The outside-back position has been a thorn in the side of the German national team for quite a few years now.
Right-back? Left-back? It does not matter, Germany has had trouble filling those voids.
How much trouble? Well, former head coach Julian Nagelsmann was so desperate that he dropped Bayern Munich star Joshua Kimmich into the right-back position at the World Cup position (which did not exactly work out).
On the left-side, though, there was hope. RB Leipzig’s David Raum was coming off of a career
year entering the World Cup, but was carrying lingering injuries. That situation, however, opened the door for Nathaniel Brown to step and own the role — which he did.
Brown subsequently transferred to Bayern Munich and was promptly (and temporarily) used as an attacking midfielder in a move that left a lot of fans scratching their heads. Observing it all, new German national team coach Jürgen Klopp was probably a little confused, too, and even joked with Kompany about it during his recent visit to Säbener Straße per Sport Bild (as captured by @iMiaSanMia):
Jürgen Klopp jokingly told Vincent Kompany about Nathaniel Brown: ‘Now that we finally have a German left-back again – and then you play him at #10.’ – Kompany took the joke in good spirits and said Brown will play in his natural position on the left again.
Brown could be the type of player, who owns the job for Germany for the next World Cup cycle (at a minimum), but he might have to be out Alphonso Davies to stay sharp and keep progressing at Bayern Munich. For the Bavarians, the competition at left-back is one of those good problems to have.
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