Why Bournemouth should start keeping tabs on Christoph Kramer
According to a report from the Daily Mail after the 2014 World Cup, Arsenal were interested in signing Germany’s World Cup-winning midfielder Christoph Kramer. However, a move to the Premier League didn’t quite materialise and the German continued to shine in the Bundesliga.
A youth product of Bayer Leverkusen, Kramer didn’t make too many appearances for his boyhood club and spent time on loan at VFL Bochum and Borussia Monchengladbach, joining the latter on a permanent deal in 2016 following an impressive two-season loan spell.
As a result of his fine displays for Monchengladbach in the 2013/14 season, Kramer was called up to Germany’s squad for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil as a back-up for Sami Khedira. Kramer started the final against Argentina but was substituted due to a concussion.
He was one of the first names on Monchengladbach’s teamsheet for the last couple of seasons but the 27-year-old hasn’t featured regularly this season, making only three starts in the Bundesliga.
Standing at 6ft 3in, Kramer has just the ideal height and physicality for a central defensive midfielder. He is essentially a defensive midfielder by trade but has also excelled in a slightly more advanced role as a deep-lying playmaker.
Kramer averaged 56.3 passes per game with an accuracy of 87.9% in the Bundesliga last season, including 2.5 successful long balls per game.
As evident from the figures, his main attributes as a central midfielder are his flawless passing, immaculate ball distribution and incredible vision, which allow him to dictate the tempo of the game in the middle of the park. To add to that, he also has the ability to set up attacks from the deeper areas with precise lobbed passes.
It is not just his passing and vision that make him the player that he is. In fact, Kramer is an excellent reader of the game and has the ability to cut out the attacks with crucial tackles and interceptions. The 27-year-old averaged 3.3 tackles and 1.6 interceptions per game last season. Furthermore, Kramer is quite agile for a player of his build and can create space for himself with silky dribbling skills.
To put things into perspective, Bournemouth can bag a massive coup if they can somehow manage to get their hands on the German in the January transfer window. Eddie Howe’s side currently sit 8th in the Premier League standings and the Cherries have just lost a bit of momentum after a wonderful start to the season.
While the front trio of Callum Wilson, Ryan Fraser and Joshua King has stolen much of the limelight, Bournemouth’s club-record signing Jefferson Lerma has taken his game to a new level in the Premier League. However, he hasn’t had someone of the same quality to partner him in central midfield.
And that is exactly why Christoph Kramer perfectly fits the bill at the Vitality Stadium. With Kramer in the side, Lerma will have the perfect partner to complement him in the middle of the park. Furthermore, Lerma’s tenacity and the fact that he is a bit quicker than Kramer will also help the German play his natural game.
Bournemouth need more depth in their squad to challenge the likes of Everton, Leicester City and Manchester United for a top-six finish and they can do it by planning an audacious swoop for the German midfielder.