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When Jan Kirchoff signed a pre-contract last January joining Bayern Munich from Mainz, it was probably one of the young 23-year-old's happiest moments. Brought in to complement Bayern Munich's powerful holding midfield and be a depth piece at centerback, it was clearly a move with an eye to him being the long term replacement for Anatoliy Tymoschuck.
Fast forward one year later and Kirchoff is clearly far down the depth roster. Guardiola has transitioned away from the double pivot holding midfield while deploying four of the world's best players in Bastian Schweinsteiger, Phillip Lahm, Javi Martinez, and Thiago above Kirchoff on the depth chart. The 23-year-old has appeared in 11 matches for the club logging only 155 minutes as a late game substitute solely due to the ridiculous injury pile this team has accrued already this season.
With the potential for meaningful game minutes now looking to be a distant dream, it's no surprise the other teams might be looking to take the former U21 international on loan. Here enters FC Nürnberg who, according to Sport Bild, are looking at bringing in the young German on loan for the remainder of the season.
der Club have had what can only be described as a disaster of a season as they've started the season without a win in their first 16 games; a feat that has never happened in the history of the Bundesliga, whilst conceding shots left, right, and center without any attacking ability. It was only natural that they fired head coach Michael Wiesinger in October, replacing him with Gertjan Verbeek later that same month. While Verbeek has done quite well to address the offensive issues with the side, their 3-0 lead last weekend against Hannover evaporated before their eyes which tells you all you need to know about their defensive situation (yes, fine, one goal was a mile offside). It's been a rotating cavalcade of players in the holding midfield roles for Nürnberg this year and bringing in a good player like Jan Kirchoff would be a great boon to the side, helping stabilize Nürnberg's rotation along with giving the promising young German the minutes he needs to become a long term piece for Bayern Munich.
UPDATE: Nürnberg coach Gertjan Verbeek and Karl-Heinz Rumenegge have confirmed that der Club is interested in bringing in Jan Kirchoff on loan starting in January. Verbeek stated that he is looking for a defensive specialist who can play as a CB or a CDM and Jan Kirchoff certainly fits that bill. Rumenigge had an enlightening statement that Guardiola sees Kirchoff as a "6"(i.e. single pivot player) rather then a centerback which is not the ideal position for his development given Bayern's depth there.
