Bayern Munich’s Julian Nagelsmann sees improvement in Tanguy Nianzou, but is it enough?

Tanguy Nianzou didn’t exactly cover himself in glory in Bayern Munich’s 2-2 draw with VfB Stuttgart over the weekend. He was preferred to start alongside Dayot Upamecano over Niklas Sule and Lucas Hernandez by Julian Nagelsmann.

Nianzou got himself into trouble early on after getting booked for a foul on Stuttgart’s Omar Marmoush, who was proving to be quite the nuisance for Bayern early doors down the right flank. Despite getting off to a poor start, Nagelsmann said he was relatively pleased with the way Nianzou responded while walking a disciplinary tight rope. “I don’t think we need to talk too much about the fact that Tanguy didn’t make it great for the first 25 minutes,” Nagelsmann said after the match (Abendzeitung).

Despite the slow start, Nagelsmann said he saw noticeable improvements as the match went on. “What made me happy is that he recovered, he stabilized. He played a lot of good balls from there into midfield,” he assessed.

Reflecting on all of Nianzou’s 22 appearances across all competitions this season, Nagelsmann noted that the 19-year old “always seemed a bit nervous,” but that it’s important for a young player to be able to learn to work through. Such was the case after his rough start against Stuttgart, which Nagelsmann highlighted. “That’s also important for a young player - to make mistakes but then to get back into the game,” he said.

Nianzou’s nervousness in the appearances he’s gotten this season is part of the reason why Nagelsmann chose to start the youngster over both Sule and Hernandez against Stuttgart. He wants to get more looks ahead of the new season to assess where the 19-year old will be at come time for the 2022/23 season, when Sule will have departed for Borussia Dortmund. “It’s about being able to rate the players perfectly. Tanguy didn’t get very few chances now, but too few to be able to rate him perfectly for the new season. It’s always about making decisions for the future - what fits together perfectly and what might not fit together so well,” he explained.

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