Bayern Munich’s Julian Nagelsmann explains Jamal Musiala’s limited playing time

Jamal Musiala was recently named to the final 20 nominees for this year’s Golden Boy award. The Bayern Munich wonderkid has been nothing short of exceptional during 2021 and his impressive performances have caught eyes all over Europe. So why isn’t Musiala getting many starts under Julian Nagelsmann?

Musiala has scored four goals and provided three assists in just ten appearances across all competitions this season. On top of this, Musiala has been performing for the Germany national team and recently scored his first goal for Die Mannschaft. Despite all of this, Musiala remains sitting on the bench for Bayern. It’s not that Nagelsmann doesn’t recognize Musiala’s talent or form, it’s that Musiala isn’t a fully trained athlete yet.

It’s a bit odd considering that Musiala started several games at the beginning of the season and has now been reserved for the bench. It’s clear that Nagelsmann wants to let his talent mature slowly and not burn out with an overload of minutes.

“You have to pay attention to your health and he is not yet a fully trained athlete. We just look at it a little. Physically, he still has to make progress,” Nagelsmann told Sport1.

With several great options on the wing for Bayern, it’s not an easy decision for Nagelsmann. Whenever Musiala starts that is a game in which one of Bayern’s veteran wingers cannot start. His minutes directly take away time from some of Bayern’s most talented players such as Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry.

In a report by SPOX journalist Kerry Hau (as captured by Twitter account @iMiaSanMia), Nagelsmann also indicated that Kingsley Coman could see the majority of the open time at wing, while Musiala could be stuck behind Thomas Müller on the depth chart:

However. Nagelsmann made a promise to the young German. “Sooner or later he will get more playing time,” Nagelsmann told Sport1. One thing is for sure, Musiala’s story at Bayern Munich is just getting started.