Liverpool and two other Prem giants watching Musiala contract talks

Liverpool are in the process of finalising their new-look backroom team with recently-appointed CEO of Football Michael Edwards soon to be joined by a sporting director in Richard Hughes.

While there is still work to be done in confirming a successor to Jurgen Klopp as manager, plans are nonetheless afoot for the summer transfer market.

The Reds have been linked through reports in Germany with a move for Bayern Munich’s superstar playmaker Jamal Musiala but there is also thought to be competition from Manchester City and Musiala’s former club Chelsea.

Musiala to be Euro 2024 star

Musiala, 21, already has four Bundesliga titles to his name and is expected to be a breakout star for the Germany national team on home soil this summer at Euro 2024.

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The attacking midfielder has played 25 times for his country, being crowned their player of the year for 2022, and was the first teenage player to feature for the Nationalmannschaft at a World Cup since 1958 when he represented his nation in Qatar two years ago.

The Premier League trio will be watching contract negotiations carefully between Musiala and his club, with his current Bayern terms expiring in 2026.

Salary a sticking point

It’s no secret that the club would like to tie the former Southampton youth-team product to a long-term contract but salary could well prove to be a sticking point.

Bild reports that Musiala is currently earning around €5 million per season with another €500k per annum added every time he plays 35 matches. That can take his total to around €7m to €8m a year.

But Bayern’s top earners take home many multiples of that figure with Harry Kane reported to be on €25m and Manuel Neuer, Thomas Muller and Leroy Sane not far behind.

Given Musiala’s centrality to Bayern’s project, it would not be unreasonable for him to expect to be catapulted into that wage category.

He signed his first professional contract in 2021 just after he broke into the first team but now commands a better deal more reflective of his status.

Chelsea’s unexpected FFP boost

Chelsea had Musiala on their books from 2011 to 2019, with the Stuttgart-born player and his family living in London, but he was persuaded to move back to his homeland by Bayern at under-19 level.

The Daily Mail reports that the Blues’ negotiated a sell-on fee of 20 percent as part of the deal that took Musiala to Bavaria so they could be well placed to cash in this summer in the event that he moves.

A high fee would help ease Chelsea’s financial burden as breaches of FFP and Profit and Sustainability Rules loom ever closer.

The Todd Boehly-led outfit will need to sell around £100 million worth of players before the end of June and last week it was reported that the club lost over £90m between 2022 and 2023.

Musiala could be sold by Bayern if no deal agreed

It has previously been reported that contract talks between Musiala and the Bayern hierarchy would go on hold until after the Euros and, in that context, no breakthrough is expected until later in the summer.

It’s by no means certain Musiala leaves but should new terms not be agreed then it would be in Bayern’s interest to sell him as quickly as possible in order to maximise his transfer value.