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Sunderland fan view: Jan Kirchhoff is vital in Black Cats fight for survival
Jan Kirchhoff went from hero to zero last season in what seemed like the blink of an eye. From a debut best forgotten at centre back to excelling in the defensive midfield role, all in the space of a few games.
It is commendable when those players who find themselves surplus to requirements at Europe’s elite teams move on in search of first team football. The easier alternative is to sit on the bench and collect their inflated salaries. In fact, many do seem to prefer this option. Thankfully for Sunderland though, Kirchhoff found himself looking for opportunities elsewhere and he arrived on Wearside in 2016 during a transformative January transfer window.
However, despite joining from Bayern Munich there were no guarantees of his quality upon joining the Black Cats.
Yet, just when things looked to be going so well for player and club, injury struck. Therefore, Sunderland have hardly had the benefit of Kirchhoff this season but, thankfully for all concerned, now a return is on the horizon.
Speaking about Kirchhoff’s imminent return David Moyes said,
“You’ve got to remember that Jan has missed a lot of football either through this injury or other injuries he’s had. This season we’ve really not seen a lot of Kirch.
“I think his stature in the middle of the park is important for us as well. He would give us a different look in midfield.”
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It is hard to argue with that statement. Kirchhoff’s composure on the ball is something which is severely lacking among the current crop of players. This season the Black Cats have been incredibly unlucky with injuries and midfield has been an area that has been particularly hard hit. Didier Ndong, Jack Rodwell – for all his foibles – Paddy McNair, Steven Pienaar and Seb Larsson have all been absent at some point during the current campaign. Whatever your views on their strengths and weakness, any team would suffer from this number of absentees.
On the subject of the injury situation among his midfielders Moyes added,
“We hope that if we can get Jan Kirchhoff and Jack Rodwell back, they’ll join Darron Gibson, Didier Ndong, and Seb Larsson. We’ll actually have quite a strong group of central midfielders which would be good. And that is without Lee Cattermole, who we hope to see at some stage too.”
Kirchhoff is unlikely to be 100% ready for the Manchester City game this weekend but the fact he is now tantalisingly close for a recall suggests a starting berth should not be too far away. All signs seem to point to Kirchhoff once again being instrumental in Sunderland’s closing games. Whether the same outcome for the club come May remains to be seen.
