Malik Tillman trained alone at Bayern Munich this week, according to Kicker, due to fears that an ill-timed injury would scupper his move to Scottish Premiership giants Rangers.
Tillman would not be the first young player to leave the Allianz Arena this summer in search of regular first-team football.
Marc Roca jumped at the chance to join Leeds United after two years gathering dust on the sidelines. Christopher Scott, meanwhile, headed to Belgium after the £20 million arrival of Ryan Gravenberch from Ajax hammered another nail into his hopes of first-team football under Julian Nagelsmann. Joshua Zirkzee also wants to go.
German-born USA international Tillman has made the odd cameo appearance in Bayern colours. He even featured in a Champions League clash with FC Barcelona. But the prospect of couple of minutes off the bench here and there, it seems, are not enough to keep Tillman comfortable and content behind the scenes at the Bundesliga champions.
According to Kicker, the 20-year-old midfielder is set to join Rangers on a loan-to-buy deal. He is undergoing medical tests, and could be confirmed as a member of Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s squad before Saturday’s pre-season clash with Blackpool.
Rangers set to sign Malik Tillman from Bayern Munich
Tillman, the report adds, trained individually at Bayern’s Sabener Strasse base this week. Understandably, the former Germany U21 playmaker was in no mood to risk picking up an injury that would have ruined his hopes of joining Tom Lawrence, Rabbi Matondo and Antonio Colak in Glasgow.
Tillman, who can play in a variety of positions including central midfield, out wide and as a striker, was labelled a ‘top quality’ young player by none other than Nagelsmann recently. Some praise. Especially when you consider the Bayern boss has a remarkable track record when it comes to identifying up-and-coming talents.
Kicker add that Bayern Munich will insert a buy-back clause in Tillman’s Rangers contract. Obviously, the Bavarians can imagine Tillman developing into a footballer capable of reaching the very highest level, albeit away from Bavaria.
“When I played as a midfielder, my style of play was similar to Paul Pogba,” the twice-capped ace told BILD. “I really liked him. I really like how he plays. He’s my role model.”
“He is technically and physically strong. He’s also very threatening in front of goal,” adds Bayern’s academy manager Holger Seitz, via Goal. “Due to his assertiveness in one-on-one situations.
“He has a good eye for goal and recognises open spaces into which he can run. Defensively, he is also very robust in duels and switches quickly after winning the ball.”
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