Bayern Munich’s Serge Gnabry trying to convince Jamal Musiala to play for Germany

While it still looks more likely that Jamal Musiala will wind up playing for England instead of Germany, Bayern Munich’s Serge Gnabry has said he’s doing his part to try and convince the 17-year old to choose Germany.

Musiala has eligibility for both countries because he was born in Germany, but then moved to England at a young age with his parents.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Gnabry joked that he’s doing everything he can to get Musisla to choose to play for Germany instead of England. A super talent like Musiala, he said, needs to join the ranks at Die Mannschaft: “Ain’t no chance we’re letting that talent go! I’m trying my best [to get him for Germany]. He’s a great, great player. The first couple of times he showed up in training we already knew he was going to be a superb player. His talent is amazing. He isn’t shy of anything. He has a lot of time on his hands and I hope he will continue to grow, and use his talents for Germany instead of England – to my benefit!”

As reported back at the end of December, if Germany is still to have any chance of convincing Musiala to choose them over Gareth Southgate’s England side, a great deal of the decision making process could boil down to who calls him up during the next international break in March. In that regard, Joachim Low could theoretically beat Southgate to the punch and call him up to the German squad. During that international break, both England and Germany will begin qualification for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Additionally, it’s also suggested that along with Gnabry and some of Musiala’s German international teammates at Bayern, sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic could pull some weight in Musiala’s decision making process. It was Salihamidzic that helped bring Musiala to Bayern from Chlesea’s youth academy. The move came after Bayern’s lengthy pursuit of Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi fell through for a number of different reasons, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise because Musiala has had a bright start to this season at Bayern. So far, he’s scored three goals from 14 appearances with the senior squad, one of which came in Bayern’s thrilling 3-3 draw with RB Leipzig at the beginning of December.

His development is clearly evident and training with some of Germany’s best midfielders and defenders like Gnabry, Joshua Kimmich, Leroy Sane, Niklas Sule, Jerome Boateng, and Leon Goretzka on a daily basis is incredibly beneficial to his growth. With that in mind, there could be far more continuity for him personally in the German ranks, but it’s his decision to make in the end.

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