Philipp Treu hails Joshua Kimmich as 'inspiration' after first Germany call-up

Treu praises Kimmich's ambition and professionalism

SC Freiburg's Philipp Treu has named Bayern Munich's Joshua Kimmich as the player who impressed him most during his first call-up to the Germany national team.

"As a kid and teenager, I always looked up to him as an inspiration," the 25-year-old said in an interview with BILD. "It was impressive to get to know him as a person, but also to watch him on the pitch. It starts right from the warm-up.

"He's already sweating while riding the bike and always gives 100 percent. You always hear about how extremely ambitious he is. You hear how badly he wants to win – but experiencing that for myself was really cool. I can also take that mentality into my own life.

"He wants to win every game and always get the very best out of himself. That makes him a role model for many," explained Treu.

Kimmich's position under scrutiny

The words are unlikely to offer much comfort to Kimmich, who has recently been called into question over his role in the Germany side. Kimmich had earlier admitted he "would have liked to stay" with the squad for the full international break after being named in only the first of Jurgen Klopp's two squads.