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Here’s how Mats Hummels helps Borussia Dortmund

By Kevin Parvizi

BERLIN, GERMANY - MAY 25: Kingsley Coman of Bayern Munich celebrates with teammates after scoring his team's second goal during the DFB Cup final between RB Leipzig and Bayern Muenchen at Olympiastadion on May 25, 2019 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images)
BERLIN, GERMANY - MAY 25: Kingsley Coman of Bayern Munich celebrates with teammates after scoring his team's second goal during the DFB Cup final between RB Leipzig and Bayern Muenchen at Olympiastadion on May 25, 2019 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images) /
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BERLIN, GERMANY – MAY 25: Mats Hummels of Bayern Muenchen lifts the trophy in celebration with team mates after the DFB Cup final between RB Leipzig and Bayern Muenchen at Olympiastadion on May 25, 2019 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images)
BERLIN, GERMANY – MAY 25: Mats Hummels of Bayern Muenchen lifts the trophy in celebration with team mates after the DFB Cup final between RB Leipzig and Bayern Muenchen at Olympiastadion on May 25, 2019 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images) /

Mats Hummels can still play

Bayern Munich are aiming to get younger on the wings and on defense, and they’ve already replaced both Rafinha and now Mats Hummels with Benjamin Pavard and Lucas Hernandez. Rumors continue to swirl regarding Jerome Boateng’s status after the Bayern legend seemingly fell out of favor with new manager Niko Kovac, and Bayern seems to still be in the running for world-class 19-year-old defender Matthijs de Ligt.

Even though Bayern were willing to sell Hummels in order to get younger, there’s a reason why his transfer value is still at around 40 million euros despite his age. Hummels remains one of the world’s best center backs. Dortmund immediately bolstered their attack upon the conclusion of the 2018-2019 Bundesliga season by signing attacking left back Nico Schulz, breakout candidate Thorgan Hazard, and young star Julian Brandt. But they didn’t make a major upgrade on defense, which makes Hummels’s signing all the more important.

Hummels is one of the most technically astute defenders in the tackle, he’s one of the world’s most accurate passers from the back, and he’s notorious for scoring headed goals on corners. That last aspect of Hummels’s game may seem niche, but Dortmund struggled to score on indirect set pieces and corners despite receiving teasing delivers from technically prolific passers like Marco Reus. Zagadou was the only real threat for Dortmund on corners.

Of course, Dortmund paid 38 million euros for Hummels’s defending and not the rare headed goal. Last season, only Joshua Kimmich had a higher WhoScored.com rating among Bayern defenders, and only the RB Leipzig duo of Willi Orban and Ibrahima Konate had higher ratings among center backs in the Bundesliga. Hummels led all Bayern players in interceptions, too.

His numbers were even better across the board in the Champions League than in the Bundesliga. Since Dortmund suffered an embarrassing performance to Tottenham in the Champions League’s knockout stages, partially due to injuries, Hummels’s impact in European competition will be even more critical. Hummels led all defenders in WhoScored.com rating during the Champions League, finishing 10th overall in tackles.

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