A Progress Report on Schalke's Bayern Munich Loanee Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg

For Schalke, the summer signing of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg on loan has proved to be a good bit of business. For the player and his parent club, Bayern Munich, it has been anything but.

Just over three months into the campaign, the 20-year-old has played just 533 minutes out of a possible 1530 in all competitions, per Transfermarkt. Approximately half of these (270) have come from three matches in which he's played the full 90 in the UEFA Europa League, a competition that coach Andre Breitenreiter has taken as secondary behind the Bundesliga. In domestic play, Hojbjerg has started just one match, a 3-1 loss to Borussia Monchengladbach last month.

A big hindrance to Hojbjerg's progress, and one that was easily foreseeable prior to his loan, is the emergence of Leon Goretzka at Schalke.

Also 20 years of age, the former Bochum man has already recorded 1275 minutes for the Royal Blues, making 15 starts in all competitions, per Transfermarkt. After spending much of last season sidelined with injury, the youngster has bounced back brilliantly and become a key part of Schalke's midfield alongside new signing Johannes Geis.

That Goretzka has emerged ahead of Hojbjerg should be no surprise to Bayern. The former earned his first senior cap for Germany in May of 2014, having been selected in Joachim Low's provisional squad for the World Cup in Brazil. 

Bayern had been watching him for years, with Matthias Sammer reportedly, according to Die Welt (h/t ESPN), having met the youngster in 2012 while he was still a Bochum player.

From Schalke's perspective, it makes more sense to start their own player than Hojbjerg, who will be sent on his way back to Munich at season's end. Thus, that the Bavarians would loan Hojbjerg to a club in which he'd compete with a player like Goretzka is rather surprising.

In fairness, however, Hojbjerg hasn't done much to help his cause. When he has played, the Denmark international has left plenty to be desired. In the Gladbach match, Kicker rated him at an abysmal five (the German publication puts six as the lowest possible rating, a rarity), while his average in the Europa League matches he's started stands at four.

His other appearances have been brief: 12 minutes against Cologne and a quarter-hour against APOEL—both in games that had been decided long before his introduction. He's played in some more competitive circumstances, but not nearly as often as he might have hoped.

A straight red card for Geis against Gladbach, which resulted in the ex-Mainz man's suspension for five games, left Hojbjerg with a bit of hope that he may start more often. But in the first two matches of that suspension, Breitenreiter has opted instead to use left-back Sead Kolasinac in midfield to partner Goretzka, apparently preferring the burly Bosnia international's physicality over Hojbjerg's less aggressive style of play.

Although his most recent performance as a substitute against Dortmund was quite encouraging, right now, the prospects for Hojbjerg are not so good. He continues to be an important player for Denmark, but at club level, his future remains unclear. He was unable to earn much playing time at Bayern prior to his loan to Augsburg, and despite making some progress earlier this year, he has taken a step back in moving to Schalke.

Had Hojbjerg been reloaned to Augsburg, there's no doubt he'd be starting by now. The Bavarians are in serious trouble, last in the Bundesliga table and in dire need of fresh ideas in midfield. But at Schalke, he's just another body in midfield who isn't particularly needed. 

Joshua Kimmich, also a 1995-born central midfielder, has played almost as many minutes (440, per Transfermarkt) in a much more competitive Bayern squad as Hojbjerg has at Schalke this season.

If he is to ever make his way in Munich, the Dane will have to do much better in the coming months. If possible, a reloan in midseason to Augsburg might be the best way forward.

@Mr_Bundesliga