Jürgen Klopp has hit out at talk of a midfield battle between Bayern Munich and Germany trio Aleksandar Pavlović, Tom Bischof and Joshua Kimmich, insisting the latter still has a place in his side. The Germany head coach spoke out after Kimmich missed Wednesday's Champions League clash with Arsenal, a 2-2 draw, following the death of his father.
Speaking in the match analysis studio on the "DAZN" network, Klopp said of Pavlović and Bischof: "They are wonderful partners, and they can play together excellently. I just think that talking about this now is an absolute lack of respect. We cannot do that without it turning into a discussion about Kimmich too. Joshua has other things he is dealing with today," a reference to the bereavement.
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The Germany coach went on: "Kimmich is an exceptional midfielder, and he will always have a place in our team. This is a discussion that only happens in this country, where people say that if a starting player does not take part in a single match, he will never play again. This is really madness."
Klopp added: "A good team needs more than one good midfielder, and it is better to have four, five or six good players, so that it can play football in a certain way."
Bischof faced the same question after the Arsenal game, asked whether he and Pavlović form Bayern Munich's future holding midfield duo. He replied: "I really enjoy playing with Pavlo. But we all know Jo's (Kimmich) value. In the end, Vinny (Kompany) is the one who decides who plays."
The young midfielder added: "I am only happy when I am on the pitch, and I get my minutes of play. We will see what the future holds for us."