Jamal Musiala is one of Bayern Munich’s “it” players, but while he’s making his comeback from injury Lennart Karl has burst onto the scene and made the CAM spot his own. With Musiala coming back, manager Vincent Kompany faces a conundrum: who to play behind Harry Kane? Club CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen thinks neither player is the “preferred player” and suggested that the two of them play on the pitch at the same time.
“Nobody can ‘claim’ a spot at FC Bayern,” Dreesen claimed (t-online journo Julian
Buhl via @iMiaSanMia). “It’s the coach’s job to assemble the best team, and I’m sure Lennart will continue to get playing time. Who knows, maybe they’ll both even be on the pitch at the same time someday.”
Dreesen even went as far as saying that having a small squad is “good.”
“Lennart Karl has shown how beneficial a smaller squad can be, because it allows talented players to actually get their chance and playing time. Of course, the players then have to justify their place, and Lennart has done so in an impressive way, consistently playing in recent matches. I’m sure Vincent has big plans for him,” Dreesen said.
Dreesen is both right and wrong. He’s right that Musiala and Karl can play together on the pitch, and he’s right that academy players can break into the first team; he’s wrong that a small squad is beneficial. Look at Manchester United for example, Ruben Amorim got sacked because he asked for better players while having to manage raw talents (calling out the club’s management in the process). They’ve got a small squad: few senior, established players and a lot of academy players being asked to do established player stuff. The point here is that a small squad can only take you so far before you need reinforcements.
