Jan Tilman Kirchhoff (born 1 October 1990) is a German former professional footballer who played as a centre-back or defensive midfielder.

[18] Following this, he began to receive a handful of first team football towards the end of the 2010–11 season, playing in either central defence and defensive midfield positions.

[25][26][27][28][29] Manager Tuchel explained his decision to put Kirchhoff in the defensive midfield position, saying: "Jan doesn't work as a double six, and we absolutely want him in the field.

"[30] After missing one match due to a knee injury, he returned to the starting line–up against Wolfsburg on 3 December 2011, only for him to score an own goal, in a 2–2 draw.

[44][45] At the start of the 2012–13 season, Kirchhoff continued to regain his first team place, as he began to rotate in either the defensive midfield and centre–back position.

[53] Three days later on 18 December 2012, Kirchhoff played a role against Schalke 04 in the Round of 16 of DFB–Pokal, coming on in the 80th minute, and setting up the club's second goal of the game, in a 2–1 win.

On 4 January 2013, Kirchhoff signed a pre-contract with Bayern Munich, agreeing to join them for the 2013–14 season as a free agent.

[61] Kirchhoff made his Bayern Munich debut, coming on as a 61st-minute substitute, as the club won 5–0 in the team's 2013–14 DFB-Pokal first-round game against Schwarz-Weiß Rehden.

[62] Four days later on 9 August 2013 he made his league debut for the club, coming on as a 73rd-minute substitute, in a 3–1 win against Borussia Mönchengladbach in the opening game of the season.

[66] A month later on 2 October 2013, Kirchhoff made his UEFA Champions League debut, coming on as a 76th-minute substitute, in a 3–1 win against Manchester City.

[67] However, he found his first team opportunities at FC Bayern Munich limited, resulting in him being placed on the substitute bench and faced his own injury concern.

Despite being loaned out, Kirchhoff was a member of Bayern Munich squad that won the Bundesliga and FIFA Club World Cup.

[72][73] After finishing his loan spell at Schalke 04, Kirchhoff, however, suffered an Achilles tendon problems ahead of the 2015–16 season.

[87][88] Kirchhoff didn't make his return on 18 October 2014, coming on as a late substitute, in a 2–0 win against Hertha BSC.

[101] Kirchhoff made a poor start as he deflected a shot from Christian Eriksen which led to a goal, and conceded a penalty with a foul on Danny Rose.

[108] Kirchhoff's efforts paid off as Sunderland managed to survive relegation thanks to a 3–0 win over Everton on 11 May 2016 with goals coming from defenders Patrick van Aanholt and a brace from Lamine Koné.

However at the start of the 2016–17 season, Kirchhoff suffered a hamstring injury during a 1–1 draw against Montpellier in a friendly match and was sidelined for a month.

[116] However, during a 1–1 draw against West Bromwich Albion on 1 October 2016, Kirchhoff suffered a hamstring injury in the 57th minute and was substituted a result.

[119][120] It wasn't until on 3 December 2016 when Kirchhoff returned to the starting line–up against Leicester City, setting up the club's first goal of the game, in a 2–1 win.

[128][129] He made his debut for Bolton Wanderers as a second-half substitute for Jem Karacan in a 3–1 loss against local rivals, Preston North End, on 3 March 2018.

[132] Kirchhoff made his FC Magdeburg debut, where he started the whole game and kept a clean sheet, in a 1–0 win against Erzgebirge Aue on 29 January 2019.

[148] Kirchhoff captained his first match on his Uerdingen 05 debut, helping the side keep a clean sheet, in a 1–0 win against Hallescher FC in the opening game of the season.

On 13 November 2007, Kirchhoff debuted for the Germany national U18 team coming on in the 72nd minute of the match in a 4–0 win over Republic of Ireland U18s.