'It was difficult for me' - Kimmich admits he considered Bayern exit under Ancelotti

Bayern Munich defender Joshua Kimmich has admitted that he struggled to see a future with the club during their tenure under Carlo Ancelotti, after being frozen out of the side.

The right-back has enjoyed a strong season under Niko Kovac, with the champions now on track to retain their title after a difficult start to the campaign.

The Germany international joined from RB Leipzig in 2015 and has gone on to become an integral member of the side, playing more minutes than anyone else at the Allianz Arena this season.

However, Kimmich has now admitted that were periods where he thought that he would have to exit the club following the arrival of Ancelotti in 2016.

The Italian replaced Pep Guardiola after the latter left for Manchester City, and preferred the experience of captain Philipp Lahm over his younger counterpart, leaving him at something of a loose end.

“Frankly, there were times where it was very difficult for me [to see my future here],” the 24-year-old admitted to Welt.

“I was unhappy about missing out on game time and [I was] having to think about whether Bayern was the only club for me.”

Ancelotti was sacked after apparently losing the dressing room in the wake of a soft start to the 2017-18 campaign, with Jupp Heynckes coming out of retirement to lead them for the rest of the season.

Kimmich has subsequently regained his standing under Kovac and has penned an extension through until 2023 with the club.

The former Eintracht Frankfurt boss endured a relatively tough start to his spell after several slip-ups, but the defender insists that the blame falls squarely on errors made by the squad rather than their coach.

“They said at the beginning that he was the perfect coach,” he added. “We won games confidently at the beginning of the season.

“But then we were often too careless. There were many individual mistakes, for which he cannot do anything about.

"We have the highest quality squad, so we are expected to march through the league. As a coach and a player, we are measured at the highest level."