Holger Badstuber to Schalke: Latest Loan Details, Comments and Reaction

Bayern Munich have sent centre-back Holger Badstuber on loan to Bundesliga rivals Schalke 04.

The club's official U.S. Twitter account shared the news on Tuesday:

Bayern chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge announced the deal, which is set to run for the remainder of the season, but it is still subject to Badstuber completing a medical, according to Bayern's official U.S. website.

Rummenigge said:

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Holger deserves to play. He’s been injured so often but now he’s physically fit again and would like to play more games. That’s why he asked us to allow him to go out on loan to Schalke, and we gladly agreed. We hope Holger will get plenty of minutes under his belt in the coming months, and we wish him all the best.

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Badstuber echoed those sentiments, per the report. He also expressed his gratitude to Bayern for making the deal happen: "I'm thankful that FC Bayern have complied with my request. I'd like to get some much-needed match practice at Schalke and I'm looking forward to my time in Gelsenkirchen."

The defender also communicated with the club's fans through his own official Twitter account, with a translation provided:

Staying fit enough to play regularly will be vital for Badstuber, given the 27-year-old's lengthy injury history. When healthy, the Germany international is one of the most capable defenders in the game.

Badstuber has the pace, intelligence, tackling technique and reading of the game to be a talisman at the back for any top club. It's little wonder several teams had been linked with the versatile defender in recent days.

In particular, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, who worked with Badstuber in Munich, recently talked up a potential deal for his former player, per Lyall Thomas of Sky Sports.

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City weren't the only Premier League side said to be keen, though. Relegation candidates Swansea City were also mooted as possible suitors, according to the Daily Mail's Chris Wheeler.

New Swans head coach Paul Clement's recent role as Bayern assistant boss made this deal seem plausible. However, staying in the Bundesliga is the smarter move for Badstuber. Now, he can get used to playing regularly again in a league with a pace and style suited to his natural game.

Interestingly, though, Bayern may have taken a risk letting Badstuber leave. After all, the Munich club have major doubts over the fitness and recovery of centre-back Jerome Boateng.

In fact, the 28-year-old may even miss the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 ties against Arsenal, per German publication Kicker (h/t ESPN FC's Mark Lovell).

In this context, the absence of Badstuber will increase the burden on Mats Hummels, Javi Martinez and Joshua Kimmich.