Jamal Musiala said Thiago Alcantara impressed him the most when he first joined Bayern Munich

After spells with Southampton and Chelsea’s youth teams in England, Jamal Musiala finally made his breakthrough into Bayern Munich’s senior team in the Ruckrunde of the 2019/20 season that was temporarily interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. He became a more regular feature last season, making a total of 37 appearances across all competitions, scoring seven goals and providing 1 assist in the process. Despite becoming a more prominent part of Bayern’s first team within the past season and a half, it was a gradual process once he joined Bayern, as he recently revealed in an interview with BBC.

“Bayern Munich came forward with a good plan on how I was going to gradually go from age group to age group but made sure I would not be rushed. I just trusted what they said and went with it,” Musiala explained in the interview.

Admittedly, Musiala said that it took some getting used to being around so many superstars in the dressing room at Bayern. Eventually though, it’s something that he just got used to. “Now it just feels very comfortable. At the start I was very nervous and if you just look at the [star] players then, yeah, you see Robert Lewandowski regularly, it’s not normal! And then after a while, it just becomes normal and I can say they are kind of my friends now,” he said.

While Musiala had to adjust to being surrounded by so many top class talents when he joined Bayern, he revealed that the player that really first caught his eye was Thiago Alcantara. The Spaniard wound up transferring to Liverpool in summer 2020, but Musiala was still able to enjoy at least half of a season with the midfield maestro. “When I first came in it was Thiago [who caught the eye in training]. His passing technique was just amazing to watch but it’s a lot of the players. Lewandowski, it’s his finish and stuff, or Joshua Kimmich’s technique as well. It’s all top,” Musiala said.

Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images

Musiala, who Leroy Sane nicknamed “Bambi” because of his long legs and ability to wriggle out of tight spaces, certainly has his own brand of football, but it’s also noticeable how much he’s learned and absorbed from the rest of the players at Bayern. He’s incredibly creative on the ball and has quick turn of pace, but he’s also grown in his sense of tactical awareness, defensive responsibilities, and his instinctiveness in front of goal.

The youngster is one of Europe’s most exciting young talents, and he’s at the right place in Bayern to continue picking things up from the players around him and adding them to his game.