Germany team: Jürgen Klopp’s remarkable vote of confidence in a Bayern Munich star

When Jürgen Klopp named his first squad last week, he had plenty of surprises up his sleeve. The new Germany head coach called up no fewer than 16 debutants in his 44-man squad, plus one player who had not played a single match for more than five months at the time of his nomination: Serge Gnabry.

The 31-year-old attacker suffered a serious adductor injury in mid-April. It ruled him out of Bayern Munich's end-of-season run-in, the World Cup in North America, pre-season and the start of the campaign. Gnabry made his comeback only the day after the squad announcement. He played 13 minutes in the 7-0 win against Union Berlin.

Klopp's decision to pick him anyway was quite a remarkable show of trust in advance. Especially as, alongside Nico Schlotterbeck, Jamal Musiala and Finn Dahmen, Gnabry is one of only four players allowed to stay for the entire international period.

Gnabry once stood as a symbol of stagnation in German football

For one or two of those left out, Klopp's special treatment of Gnabry, combined with some of his reasons for omissions, is likely to have raised a few eyebrows. Deniz Undav is missing because, according to Klopp, he has "not really found his way into the season yet". Despite Achilles tendon problems, Undav still played six matches and collected four assists. Leroy Sane, who had featured in every competitive match this season for Galatasaray, had meanwhile "not really got his feet under the table yet", Klopp said.

Neither man has been especially convincing recently. You can understand why the Germany head coach has left them out and wants to test fresh faces instead. But Gnabry has found his way into this season even less and got his feet under the table even less than Undav and Sane. He has no match sharpness and is still physically a long way from 100 per cent. The difference is that, unlike the two World Cup starting XI players now being ignored, Klopp apparently believes Gnabry can play a leading role in the Germany team's restart.

That is certainly helped by the fact Gnabry missed the embarrassing World Cup and is therefore seen by Klopp and the public as carrying less baggage. That is despite the fact that, at 31, he is long past the point of being one of the younger players. In fact, only captain Joshua Kimmich, also 31, and the new old first-choice goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, 34, are older than Gnabry in the 44-man squad.

Overall, it is a remarkable shift in how Gnabry is viewed. Not so long ago, he too was a constant source of debate, with the national team and above all at Bayern Munich. Too expensive, too injury-prone and so on. Like Sane, Leon Goretzka and at times even Kimmich, Gnabry came to represent stagnation in German football.

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Serge Gnabry played a strong season with Bayern Munich

As recently as spring 2025, Bayern Munich viewed him as a sale candidate. Then fate turned in his favour. Thomas Müller said goodbye to Vancouver, Jamal Musiala suffered a serious injury, and the Munich club did not want to pay for an expensive new signing. Serge, we would have a starting place in the No 10 position on offer! And Gnabry seized the unexpected chance.

He collected 21 goal involvements last season and, as a free radical between Harry Kane, Michael Olise and Luis Diaz, gave Munich's play an extra dimension. He delivered some outstanding performances, especially in the Champions League. Against Paris Saint-Germain in the league phase, Gnabry played an almost perfect half before Diaz's red card forced him off at the break. He also shone in the round of 16 against Atalanta Bergamo and in the quarter-final against Real Madrid. In between, something happened that had long seemed unthinkable: in February, Gnabry signed a new contract with Bayern Munich until 2028.

Only the serious injury shortly before the decisive phase of the season stopped him. What might have been possible in the semi-final against PSG with a Gnabry in the form he showed in the league-phase meeting with PSG?

Vincent Kompany: "We have not forgotten how good he was"

While Gnabry worked on his comeback in recent months, competition for his favoured position in attacking midfield intensified at Bayern Munich. After his strong World Cup, the Munich club signed Ismael Saibari from PSV Eindhoven for a fee of 50 million euros. At the same time, Musiala has recently been edging back towards his best form. Michael Olise and Lennart Karl can also play in the centre.

With Gnabry's comeback against Union coming into view, coach Vincent Kompany insisted: "We have not forgotten how good he was last season." Provided Gnabry "gets back to his level, everyone else in that position also has to be good", Kompany said. "Then you get this dynamic of positive competition again. That is what we ultimately want."

Now Klopp's early show of trust has put Gnabry in the comfortable position of being able to keep fighting his way back within the national team set-up. "For me, it is a very big plus that he is taking me with him and that I stay in rhythm there," Gnabry said. It is quite possible he will celebrate his Germany comeback in one of the four matches.

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