Julian Green will reportedly stay with Bayern Munich reserves this season

Julian Green may not be going out on loan after all. Despite speculation that the American would spend the upcoming season away from Bayern Munich, Kicker is reporting that he will instead stay with the club and play for their reserve team in the German fourth division.

At face, this would seem like a bizarre decision. Green played for the reserves two years ago at the age of 18 and was spectacular there, scoring 15 goals in 23 matches. His loan spell at Hamburg last season was an unmitigated disaster, but he looked destined for another chance in the Bundesliga, or the 2.Bundesliga at worst. To return to the fourth division, which he showed he was too good for two years ago, makes no sense.

But staying with the Bayern reserves actually does make some sense. Last season wasn't just a disaster, it left Green with few opportunities to play. It doesn't matter how hard he worked in training, the lack of matches means he has to be out of form and certainly not in match shape. Green was also shown just how difficult loans could be, as the team you're with has no vested interest in your development, and a simple managerial change (or three) can doom the chance to play.

Green can still go on loan, and maybe it would work out great, but he's also risking getting caught in the same unstable club fallout that he was a year ago. Going in out of form won't help him either, making it all the more difficult to crack the team.

Instead, Green will get matches with the Bayern reserves. He'll probably score goals and won't be substantially challenged, but Bayern will have a lot of talented players on that team and at least Green will be fit and in form. Then, if he's clicking, he can look to go on loan in January. Then he'll have a better chance of earning playing from that start and ensuring he doesn't have another lost year.