Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala named to UEFA’s 50 to watch list

It would be hard to deny that Bayern Munich youngster Jamal Musiala is not opening a lot of eyes globally with his slick play. The 17-year-old’s performances have impressed many, including UEFA.com, which named Musiala to its “50 to watch” list.

Below is the excerpt UEFA used within its summary of the list:

Jamal Musiala (ENG, 17 – Bayern): An England Under-21 player, Musiala is an attacking midfielder born in Germany who grew up in London. Joined Bayern from Chelsea and is already made a smattering appearances and even scored a handful of goals. Bayern legend Lothar Matthäus said: “Sometimes he plays as a No6, sometimes No8 or No10.”

Other notable players listed include the following athletes (along with their respective summaries):

Tyler Adams (USA, 20 – RB Leizpig): A product of the New York Red Bulls academy, Adams is an ever more central figure at Leipzig having announced himself with a dramatic late winner against Atlético in last season’s UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.

Jude Bellingham (ENG, 17 – Borussia Dortmund): His home-town club, Birmingham City, retired the No22 shirt in his honour when he left having just turned 17. Has already had an impact at Dortmund, becoming the youngest English player to feature in the UEFA Champions League, and made his international debut; has drawn comparisons to Patrick Vieira.

Joško Gvardiol (CRO, 18 – Dinamo Zagreb, on loan from RB Leipzig): Gvardiol ticks all the boxes for a modern-day centre-back; fast, strong, with the ability to play out from the back. Helped Dinamo concede just one goal in the UEFA Europa League group stage; he joins Leipzig at the end of the season for a record fee for a Croatian teenager.

Boubacar Kamara (FRA, 21 – Olympique Marseille): Joined Marseille when he was five and was captain of many of the club’s academy teams. Made his professional debut at 17 and is now a regular in either the centre of defence or midfield.

Youssoufa Moukoko (GER, 16 – Borussia Dortmund): The youngest ever player in the UEFA Champions League following his Matchday 6 debut aged just 16 years and eighteen days, Moukoko is also the youngest player and goalscorer in the history of the Bundesliga.

Malick Thiaw (FIN, 19 – Schalke 04): The progress of the tall, flexible and quick 19-year-old has been likened to the early days of Liverpool’s Joël Matip.

Florian Wirtz (GER, 17 – Leverkusen): Already a regular starter for the early pacesetters in the Bundesliga, Wirtz is hot property. He can dribble, beat an opponent with ease, pick out his team-mates with excellent distribution and has an eye for goal from range. Can play anywhere across the line behind a striker or in a more deep-lying playmaker role.