A new number 18 at Bayern? No, just a transformed Leon Goretzka

Leon Goretzka has spent plenty of time in his gym during the enforced Bundesliga break and has returned as a transformed and better player.

Munich (dpa) – Some may have been wondering whether Bayern Munich have signed a new player with shirt number 18 during the coronavirus-related Bundesliga break of two months.

The answer however is no – it is just that Leon Goretzka has built up some muscles and is even more dynamic than before, which is good news for the team and coach Hansi Flick.

Goretzka was a starter and key figure in the leaders Munich winning all four games since play has resumed, and in the last three of them also very successfully deputized for injured Thiago Alcantara as a holding midfielder.

“You can see that Leon has put on some muscle mass,” Flick has said. “That’s good for his game, he is developing well.”

Flick even said after another good showing in a 5-0 over lowly Fortuna Dusseldorf: “If you want to single out someone then it was Leon Goretzka who played an outstanding number six, was very alert and won many balls.

“Leon showed the other players that we don’t allow any danger.”

Goretzka, 25, arrived in Munich from Schalke in 2018 on a free transfer after helping Germany win the Confederations Cup the previous year.

But the now 25-times-capped player did not have an easy time in Munich and injuries also did not help his cause.

This season he started in only eight of the 25 games played before the pandemic, but is now seemingly out to become a regular fixture in Bayern’s star-studded midfield.

His versatility helps, especially with Thiago back in team training, as Goretzka can also be used further up including in the playmaker position.

Flick says that Thiago and Goretzka interpret the holding role a little differently, with the Spaniard shining with his skill and reading the game while Goretzka’s strength is his dynamics and drive into the penalty area.

“It is one of my strengths to create danger from midfield. And I try to bring that into the game,” Goretzka said.

Four season goals, the last almost two weeks ago in a 5-2 win over Eintracht Frankfurt, who Bayern host again in the cup semi-finals next week, are the reward so far.

Goretzka readily admits that he has worked hard on his physical shape and fitness during the break when players had to train at home and in cyber sessions with Flick and his staff.

There was also time for him to start the fund-raising #WeKickCorona” initiative with team-mate Joshua Kimmich but what helps Bayern now in their run an eighth straight Bundesliga title, is his transformation on the field.

“I made sure to keep fit at home,” he said, with his next chance to prove it on Saturday against strong fifth-placed Bayer Leverkusen.