Thomas Muller has been in sensational form yet again this season and it continues to astound people year after year how the German keeps playing a pivotal role in Bayern Munich’s success. However, the role of the German has developed over the years and it is still a little hard for people to digest the fact that he turned 31 only 6 months ago.
To emphasize how pivotal Muller has been this season for Bayern, it is important to note that he has had a hand in 31 goals in 37 appearances and has become Bayern’s most important player after Robert Lewandowski.
Muller is one of the few players who has moved through the ranks of Bayern Munich and has successfully played at the club for over 20 years. Although with the German’s contract about to expire in June 2023 coupled with his comments on his future, it looks like Muller may be looking for a project elsewhere, and with the Premier League an attractive destination, it could be the perfect send-off to a glorious career.
Ambition superior to loyalty?
Although Thomas Müller has had one of the best careers an individual could ever ask for, ambitious players always want one more achievement added to their CV’s and there is no doubt that Muller is a player of similar ilk. Moreover, had it not been for recurring injuries and the god-like creatures of Ronaldo and Messi, Muller could have been in with a shout for a Ballon’d’or award.
Although he may not have received a Ballon’d’or, Muller to date plays a role that nobody across Europe has been able to master besides the German. The role is that of a second striker and Muller has been brilliant at it for more than a decade. When you are a free-flowing team like Bayern Munich, you can afford to play a second striker who will come up with crucial goals while also press the oppositions’ central midfield into mistakes.
The 31-year-old has done justice to this role and he has been fearless in doing so. Going hard into aerial duels, trickery in the box, the vision to find overlapping wingers, Muller has mastered it all, and he has developed himself into a predatory center-forward cum false nine.
After all these years, Muller might be angling to play for a side other than Bayern Munich, and the only other team in Europe which would currently suit the German is Liverpool.
Thomas Muller off to Jurgen Klopp’s Reds?
Jurgen Klopp has been finding a replacement for Roberto Firmino for a while and the reasons were clear. Diogo Jota albeit excellent when he has played is injury prone and functions at a high level only when the team is functioning at a similar level. Unlike Mo Salah, Jota does not have the stature of pulling a game away single-handedly.
Firmino has not been at his best for the past two seasons and who better than Thomas Muller to play a false nine role at a top European club. Moreover, Muller won’t be the first Bayern player to make the move to the Reds as Thiago Alcantara recently joined Liverpool’s ranks last summer. In a recent interview with Times, Muller also accepted that his future is ‘not fixed’ and he could also see himself following the footsteps of his former Bayern team-mate Thiago.
It is the project and the way that Liverpool plays the game that attracted Thiago and will certainly do the same for Muller. Like Bayern, Liverpool also plays a high line and gegenpress a team without the ball. The 31-year-old is already adept with this style and would work wonders for Jurgen Klopp.
Additionally, Thomas Muller is a highly experienced professional and could become a huge role model and mentor figure at the club for several years. Having an experienced forward will help Klopp to change gears when he wants to motivate his team and Muller is certainly a player who can lead from the front.
While Liverpool have not approached the German yet, should Muller be available this summer, Klopp will certainly eye the 31-year-old as a perfect figurehead up top in his starting lineup. Bayern Munich might not demand as much either for Muller and a fee in the region of £30 to £40 million could be a reasonable price as the German is also relatively injury-prone.
Klopp knows what he wants in the summer and if the funds are available, he might not have to look any further than Muller this summer.
