Tom Bischof arrives fresh, could become Klopp’s midfield linchpin

Tom Bischof, the 21‑year‑old captain of Germany’s U21 side, was summoned by both U21 coach Antonio Di Salvo and senior boss Jürgen Klopp after Bayern Munich’s 4‑0 victory over Latvia in the European Championship qualifiers, arriving in the senior squad with no World Cup baggage.

The international break proved busy for the Bayern midfielder, who had already featured for the U21s and was on the radar of Julian Nagelsmann, with many young talents still dreaming of a World Cup place. By agreement between the coaches, the captain was called up by both Di Salvo and Klopp, signalling a clear step towards the senior team.

“Both roles are doing me a lot of good — because here I can take on huge responsibility, but I also have to do that at the top level. I’m no different as a person there, I behave exactly the same as I do here,” the 21‑year‑old explained, highlighting the challenge of juggling duties.

Midfield battle heats up

Klopp is now hunting a partner for Joshua Kimmich, and after Kimmich’s departure Bischof’s chances of featuring against Serbia or Greece have improved. He will compete with Aleksander Pavlović, Anton Stach and Vitaly Janelt for a place in the reshaped Germany midfield.

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Kimmich, the Germany captain, will watch the Serbia match from the Allianz Arena – his “living room”. After the defeat to Greece he admitted, “I’d hoped until the very end to stay and of course I would have loved to be there.”

Bischof’s confidence and Bayern role

Klopp has already praised Bischof, calling him “a very fine footballer, has enormous tactical talent, and is simply a fantastic guy” when announcing the squad, and trusts his counter‑pressing abilities.

Since moving to Munich, Bischof has taken the prestigious number 8 from Leon Goretzka. He recalled Goretzka’s joking comment about stealing his slides, noting the veteran’s genuine happiness for him.

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In July he told the club’s media, “Everyone wants to play, and that makes everyone better and helps the whole team. I definitely believe I can fill this role.” With fearlessness, creativity and self‑belief, Bischof now has the chance to become a key pillar for both Bayern Munich and Jürgen Klopp’s Germany side.