Gareth Southgate casts envious eye towards Germany’s Joshua Kimmich

25-Sep-2022 21:30:44 | The Guardian

Manager believes the Germany playmaker is the type of midfielder Premier League academies are failing to produce

It is always revealing when a manager name-checks an opposition player before a game and it was no different when Gareth Southgate did so on Sunday. Asked to assess Germany, whom England face in the Nations League at Wembley on Monday night — in a tie that has become fraught for so many reasons — he zeroed in on one man, betraying admiration and envy in equal measure.

“Joshua Kimmich is fundamental to the team and the way they play,” Southgate said of the midfield controller. “He organises the game for them and he reads it so well.”