How Bayern Munich Can Get the Best Out of Kingsley Coman in 2016/17

Kinglsey Coman had a great debut season at Bayern Munich during the 2015/16 campaign, transforming himself from a fringe player brought in on loan to a key contributor to the club's domestic double and run to the Champions League semi-finals.

The mercurial winger became a full France international last autumn and is in their squad at Euro 2016, a testament to his development given he only turned 20 earlier in June. But having made 37 appearances and contributed directly to 18 goals for Bayern, it was no surprise he was selected to represent his nation during this summer's tournament.

Given his age, Coman is still far from a finished product and could achieve so much more. The question now is what Bayern can do in order to avoid him stagnating or taking a step backward under incoming coach Carlo Ancelotti.

Find a Defined Role

The first, and arguably most crucial, factor is to give Coman a set role in the team. Perhaps he isn't yet at the level to be a full-time starter for a club with as competitive a squad as Bayern, but that isn't necessary. More important is an understanding of which starter he will stand in for in the event of fatigue or an injury and the opportunity to regularly play in that role.

In the past, Xherdan Shaqiri and Mario Gotze struggled without clearly defined roles. They were talented and versatile but shuffled around the attack; each played on both wings and in a central role behind a main striker, which was useful to the team. But they stagnated because they never truly had a chance to settle in one position and discover how to apply their skills in that area.

Thibault Camus/Associated Press

Although Coman was used on both wings last season, he at least achieved considerable consistency at different times. During the early stages of the campaign and until the end of October, he played exclusively on the right, often deputising for Arjen Robben as the Dutchman recovered from a muscular injury.

Then Coman moved to the left wing, where he featured consistently from early November until the end of February. And finally, for the business end of the campaign, the youngster was moved back to the right. So despite changing his position a couple times, Coman at least had a consistent run in each spot.

Ancelotti would be wise to follow the blueprint Pep Guardiola laid out in that regard rather than shuffling Coman from place to place each week. More experienced players may be more capable of handling such switches, but it's better for a developing player to achieve a level of consistency.

Leaving consistency aside, another important factor in Coman's development concerns finding the right role for him. It's easy to pigeonhole a player as being of a certain type, but that can have negative consequences, especially if they are capable of operating in many roles. 

Bastian Schweinsteiger wasted half his Bayern career playing on the wing because he was versatile, and he was never a particularly talented wide man. He moved into central midfield at the age of 25 and proved to be a natural.

Coman, in his young career, has played on both wings and as a secondary striker. At Juventus, he was used primarily as a central support man. Under Guardiola, he was exclusively a winger.

It's obvious to see how Coman's skill set can apply to a role out wide. He has incredible pace and is extremely mobile in terms of his agility. These qualities alone are suitable for a player to beat his marker on the wing and play the ball into the centre using his right foot. And that appears to be his go-to move—at least for now.

Per Transfermarkt, Coman played on the right in 20 games last season, scoring three goals and providing eight assists. He produced the same goal tally and four assists in 15 games on the left side, making him appear a bit more productive on the right than on the left. Looking more closely, however, his performance on the right is even better given four of his 20 appearances there lasted for a maximum of 20 minutes. On the left, he only played less than half an hour on one occasion.

Develop as a Team Player

Despite it seemingly being clear Coman is better on the right wing than anywhere else, it might nonetheless be wise to give him more consistent game time elsewhere.

He was productive on the right in a simplified playing style; he often just used his pace and crossed the ball, which is more useful for a lesser team than Bayern. One thing he needs to work on is his team play, being able to not only watch the ball and the opponent that faces him but the rest of his teammates.

Too often he makes a brilliant move to get past his opponent, only to cross the ball without looking up to see whether there is a target and how to play the ball to them. The right wing is suitable for that tactic, so playing Coman consistently on the left would require him to develop a more cultured passing game.

Matthias Schrader/Associated Press

Work on His Finishing

Similarly, Coman could do with practicing his finishing. For a player once being groomed as a striker, he doesn't appear to have the best eye for goal.

Playing on the left could help him to develop the Robben-style move of cutting inside onto his stronger foot and shooting on goal. And playing through the centre would, of course, see Coman get more chances to finish, although Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller are dominant in those roles and unlikely to be shifted in the short term.

Perhaps if Bayern were to play in a 4-3-3 formation, it would present Coman with a good opportunity to have plenty of scoring chances from a position on the left wing.

Exactly which role Coman can and will play at Bayern is something Ancelotti will have to figure out when the player returns to training later this summer. There are a few possibilities, and it depends partly on what Bayern need in addition to how much the coach thinks he can learn. He made great progress last season but still has a long way to go if he is to take the next step and become one of the top players in world football.

Time is on the youngster's side, though, and the sky is the limit on his potential if he's managed well.

@Mr_Bundesliga