Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala learned a lot working through youth teams in England

Before making his senior debut for Bayern Munich’s senior team, Jamal Musiala worked his way through various youth teams in both Germany and England. He ultimately wound up choosing to represent Germany at the international level due to having dual citizenship in both Germany end England, despite Gareth Southgate’s best efforts to convince him otherwise.

Before coming to Germany to join up with Bayern’s U17’s and U19’s, Musiala had stints at both Southampton and Chelsea. Sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic played a key role in selling the full package of Bayern Munich to Musiala when he was still with Chelsea’s youth teams, explaining what could be possible with working his way through the ranks at Bayern. Looking back, it’s quite arguably been one of Brazzo’s most successful moves as Bayern sporting director.

At 19 years of age, Musiala has already announced himself on the world stage, and with a solid World Cup in Qatar with Germany, his profile could get raised even higher. So far this season, he’s already tallied 12 goals and 10 assists from a total of 22 appearances across all competitions. He shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon, but he recently said that a lot of his current playing style is deeply rooted in how he was brought up in the English youth teams.

“In the English youth teams you learn different things than in Germany. I was able to take a lot with me. I improved a lot there. ‘Playing with freedom’ was the motto back then, I took that with me for my career and will always stay with me,” Musiala recently explained in a press conference with the German national team in Qatar (via @iMiaSanMia).

Playing with freedom is certainly something that is clearly visible in, and a staple of Musiala’s game with his innate ability to get out of incredibly tight spaces with multiple defenders closing him down. Just when you think any given sequence is lost, Musiala is able to make something out of it, and his improved consistency in front of goal is something that’s made him all the more lethal for both Bayern and Germany.