Bayern Munich’s win against TSG Hoffenheim was filled with positives, but if there was one common point of critique, it was that Adam Aznou was not given any playing time despite the dominant scoreline. Such a sentiment was common enough that, ahead of the game against VFL Wolfsburg, Adam Aznou’s prospects in the squad were questioned by reporters.
Head coach Vincent Kompany, for his part, said he does not want to rush Aznou’s adaptation: “The first six months with a new team are always really important for young players for the sake of adaptation,” he explains, as captured by @iMiaSanMia. “It is perhaps more important to be involved in first team training as well. He’s doing very well there. He’s up against a lot of competition. That’s Bayern. But we’re always talking about when players can take on a more important role for the team. He’s taking things one step at a time.”
But director of sport Max Eberl was more open about a loan move, which he sees as the next step in the Moroccan international’s development: “Adam has been up there for a long time already. We’re always in discussion with our players. If something interesting comes up, then we’ll look at it,” he admitted, via @iMiaSanMia. “We’ll also have Stani back soon and hopefully also Hiroki Ito at some point, so a loan for him could be a possibility.”
BFW Analysis
It is interesting how Kompany and Eberl view the situation. One gets the distinct feeling the plan was always for the 18-year-old to fully involve himself in first team training and become a regular member of the first team squad, though not to get game time beyond making his debuts in the Bundesliga and the Champions League. Then the next step is a loan before Bayern will consider integrating the former FC Barcelona youngster.
There are certainly many reasons to critique such an approach (is denying Aznou game time over training with Bayern really beneficial for him? How is he improving more than the youngsters who are training with the first team but also playing for the U-19s or U-23s? Imagine if Bayern had chosen such a minimalist approach for Aleksandr Pavlović) but it is at least nice to see there is a concrete plan for Aznou.
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