Leon Goretzka has left Bayern Munich after eight years to join Aston Villa on a free transfer. The 31-year-old Germany international signed for the English Premier League club on Tuesday, bringing his long spell with the record champions to an end.
“I had a bit of a long vacation, and it was a process to find out what I really wanted.” Goretzka said. He stressed that he was convinced from his first conversation with manager Unai Emery and sees Aston Villa as a really big club. His job now is to help the team achieve its goals with his experience.
At Bayern, Goretzka had increasingly been relegated to a substitute role in recent years. Under coach Vincent Kompany, he was primarily used from the bench last season, a situation that accelerated his departure after his contract expired in July. In total, the midfielder made 312 appearances and scored 51 goals for Munich, winning seven league titles and the Champions League in 2020.
Career at a crossroads
His move to England marks a turning point in the career of the 73-cap international. Goretzka repeatedly stated in the final phase of his Bayern tenure that he would fight for his place, but ultimately had to accept that the club hierarchy no longer planned with him. The arrival of young academy graduate Aleksandar Pavlovic ultimately sealed his fate.
For the German national team, Goretzka was only a squad player recently. At the World Cup this summer, he managed just 96 minutes of playing time across three appearances under Julian Nagelsmann. Whether new national team manager Jürgen Klopp will call him up again remains uncertain. A fresh start in the Premier League could give his international career new momentum.
Villa themselves are seeking midfield reinforcements after an opening 4-0 defeat at Brighton and the long-term injury to Amadou Onana. However, competition is also fierce in Birmingham, with young Swiss talent Johan Manzambi as a direct rival. The full overview of the current squad shows the personnel options available to manager Emery.
Goretzka, once labelled a “once-in-a-century talent” by his youth coach Peter Neururer at Bochum, undeniably brings vast experience in big games. He himself said he is looking forward to “playing in these kinds of big games every few days”, which he sees as one of the biggest differences to the Bundesliga. His next task will be to establish himself in his new surroundings and win a place in Aston Villa's starting lineup. The club's upcoming fixtures will show when he could make his debut.
