Philipp Treu may take DFB's Kimmich role, Klopp's plan includes a sub.

The 25‑year‑old Philipp Treu, a regular starter for Bundesliga leaders SC Freiburg, was nominated for the German national team for the first time on Thursday and benefits from Klopp's plan to use Joshua Kimmich in central midfield.

Treu's Path to the National Team

Born in Heidelberg, Treu returned to his former club in the summer of 2025 after two years at FC St. Pauli, for which he had previously played for six years. This season he started the first three Bundesliga matches, all of which ended in victories and propelled Freiburg to the top of the table. He was also in the starting eleven in the DFB Cup and in the Conference League qualification.

Klopp's Plan for the Kimmich Position

Jürgen Klopp initially contacted Treu via message to arrange a phone call; according to Treu the conversation was "cool" and "simply positive". During the squad presentation Klopp announced that Joshua Kimmich of FC Bayern Munich will again play in central midfield in the future, meaning the right‑back position needs to be filled anew.

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The right‑back described himself as a "small work ant" and emphasized that his ambition drives him to "extract even more percentages". Even before the season, he expressed in the training camp the dream of "running onto the pitch with the eagle on his chest and singing the national anthem".

With the nomination, Treu begins his first phase with the DFB team under Klopp. The upcoming Nations League break includes four matches between September 24 and October 4 – an away game in the Netherlands, home games against Greece and Serbia, and another away game in Greece. For the first time, so many international fixtures are scheduled consecutively in a single season.

Klopp decided to nominate two squads for this match period in order to distribute the workload. Should Treu take over the right‑back position, it would be a significant moment as a player from Freiburg would be fielded in the DFB team for the first time.