Man City ruin sublime Chelsea return as Pep eyes future Ballon d'Or winner

Tom Weber

• Updated: 27 Feb 2024 15:50 GMT
• 3 min read

Manchester City are plotting a summer move for Jamal Musiala, according to a report.

The Bayern Munich star, like several of his teammates, is facing an uncertain future. Out of contract in 2026, many believe that the wonderkid won't be extending his stay at the Allianz Arena.

At 21, Musiala has pretty much won everything there is to win and it seems as though Bayern aren't going anywhere for the foreseeable future after the Thomas Tuchel experiment failed miserably. The summer might be the ideal time for Musiala to move on, though the Bavarians naturally want to keep one of the biggest talents in German football history.

At this point, however, it seems unlikely that Musiala will be able to reach his full potential at Bayern. The youngster is not having the best of campaigns, though his talent is undeniable. Indeed, Rio Ferdinand recently tipped him to eventually win a Ballon d'Or, and in order to achieve that, he may have to leave.

Man City want Musiala

Having grown up in England and played for the Three Lions' youth teams, Musiala has a special connection with the country and London in particular, a place he still visits whenever he can. In fact, the attacking midfielder has admitted that he would like to eventually play in the Premier League.

A former Chelsea academy product, a move back to Stamford Bridge would make sense given the Blues' focus on snapping up the biggest talents in the world. At this point, however, Chelsea will struggle to get any kind of European football next term, let alone make the Champions League.

The Blues are quite simply an unattractive destination right now and would struggle to bring Musiala back. The same can't be said of Man City, who are keen on potentially replacing Kevin de Bruyne with the 21-year-old, according to TEAMtalk. The Belgian is out of contract in 2025 and could depart the club in the summer.

FootballTransfers exclusively revealed that De Bruyne has no intention of leaving City for Saudi Arabia, but the player is also said to be courted by MLS sides, chiefly Lionel Messi's Inter Miami. In the event of his departure, Pep Guardiola would like to bring in an elite replacement.

According to the above-mentioned report, Musiala tops a shortlist of attacking midfielders that also includes Bayer Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz, who has been in absolutely stunning form for Xabi Alonso's side this term.