Bundesliga: My 2019-20 Offensive Players of The Year
1. Thomas Müller, Bayern Munich
One of the hallmarks of great football players is their ability to adjust their game to fit both the changing environment and their advancing age.
This season, Thomas Müller completed the adjustment from being a hard-working pesky goal scorer to a hard-working pesky play-maker who can do everything offensively on the pitch.
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It has not been a comeback for Thomas, but a complete transformation.
Like his teammate, Gnabry, he provided a stabilizing force and effective conduit to Bayern’s attack, especially after the managerial change from Nico Kovac to Hansi Flick earlier in the season.
The 30-year old led the German top-flight in assists with 20, by far his career-high. He punched in seven goals, which is a far cry from his high of 20 four seasons ago.
His advanced metrics tell a better story of his overall effectiveness as a determined force of nature. Thomas led the Bundesliga in shot-creating actions per 90 minutes, with over five per match. He also was second in goal-creating actions per 90 minutes at 1.04.
Müller also led all qualifiers by a wide margin in both xGChain90 (1.46) and xGBuildUp90 (0.73), making the diminutive interchangeable player the last person defenders wish to face.
This is high praise for a player who is both reaching the end of his prime and who also has teammates like Gnabry, Lewandowski, and Joshua Kimmich.
Next. Barcelona and Juventus closer to reaching a player-swap deal. dark
Thomas Müller is my pick for Bundesliga offensive player of the year. I am sure that my choice was not the ending that many expected – like those romantic comedies that all end the same.