Bayern Munich should forget Liverpool’s Sadio Mane and hand the keys over to Jamal Musiala

Bayern Munich is going to roll out the red carpet and empty its coffers to add a very good — some would say great — attacker from Liverpool: Sadio Mane.

Undoubtedly, Mane is a star. My question, however, is why go through all of that, spend extra money, risk alienating your existing players, and generally just adding more gasoline to this inferno of an offseason when you already have a prodigious talent just waiting to get the nod? That’s right...Bayern Munich should dump its plans to get Mane and just let Jamal Musiala run wild — and here’s why:

1. Money: There is no reason to blow upwards of €40 million on a transfer fee and potentially €20+ million on a salary when Musiala might be able to give you the same production.
2. Opportunity: Everyone can see Musiala is one of Germany’s most gifted attackers. Whether it is as a wing in a back four or an attacking midfielder in a back three, Musiala creates chaos. All the while, he’s just sitting patiently saying, “Put me in coach, I’m ready to play” without causing a major fuss. This whole movement of making Musiala a #6 or an #8 is nice, but why waste his best attribute of creative and relentless attacking? Let the kid focus on what he does best — attacking.
3. Team chemistry: Adding Mane will reportedly create more tension with Serge Gnabry and will inevitably mean less playing time for Musiala, Leroy Sane, and Kingsley Coman. Coman has been very good over the past two seasons and while Sane and Gnabry have been inconsistent, adding Mane might not result in the competitive spark that Bayern Munich might be eyeing. In fact, the return on investment for both Gnabry and Sane could actually lessen if they shutdown and pout (which is entirely possible). Moreover, why would anyone look to add a player that will likely take time away from Musiala?
4. Star gazing: One of the — alleged — primary reasons Mane wants to make the move to Bayern Munich is that he can “become the biggest star in the Bundesliga” — not win titles, not help lead the club into the post-Robert Lewandowski era...nope, Mane wants to — allegedly — be the big fish in what he thinks is a small pond. That...just rubs me wrong.
5. It’s just time: Musiala might be young, but even with the innocence of that youth, he has to be feeling like he is ready to make his mark in the starting XI — or at least be involved in a more frequent rotation. After watching Sane meltdown in the second half of last season and seeing Gnabry’s performance take a roller coaster trajectory, Musiala has to know that he is ready for a bigger role. I’m ready for it, many Bayern Munich fans are eagerly anticipating it...and just about the only folks who won’t be equipped to handle Musiala on the pitch more are Bayern Munich’s opponents.

And sure, the “why not both?” crowd might have a point. The “big squad is good insurance” people won’t be wrong, either. However, I don’t want anything endangering the potential of seeing more Musiala in between the painted lines of the Allianz Arena.

If it means passing on Mane to make that happen...then you just tell me here to sign.