Hansi Flick could be committing to Jonas Hofmann as Germany’s right-back

When seeking to inject some life and versatility into Germany’s offense, former Bayern Munich manager Hansi Flick examined his options at right-back.

With Joshua Kimmich firmly settled into the defensive midfield, Die Mannschaft has not had a natural successor.

Many fans clamored for Wolfsburg’s Ridle Baku to break through, the youngster did not look like “ready for primetime player” during the last international break. Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Matthias Ginter is...fine, but does not offer enough going forward. Ditto for RB Leipzig’s Lukas Klostermann, who offers great speed, but seems to have trouble finding a way to get comfortable operating deep into the offensive end.

Factoring all that in, Flick sounds like he is leaning toward using Gladbach midfielder at right-back to sprinkle in some offensive ability to the position.

“He showed that he’s got a lot of quality going forward, and worked really hard defensively. He put in a great shift and I’m pleased with how he did,” said Flick to the DFB website in assessing Hofmann’s performance.

It could turn out to be a stroke of genius for Flick if Hofmann can assert himself in the position and embrace the nuances of becoming a formidable option there.