Why Man City will have edge over Liverpool and Bayern Munich in Musiala transfer

Suraj Radia

• 11 Apr 2024 16:29 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester City are believed to be leading the race for Jamal Musiala in a move that could see the Bayern Munich wonderkid take the next step into his trajectory as a global superstar.

Musiala is largely considered to be one of the brightest young prospects in world football, with the 21-year-old having provided more than 70 goal contributions in over 150 senior appearances for Bayern.

The German international came through Chelsea’s academy after growing up in England but he left for Bayern aged 16 and has developed into one of the Bundesliga side’s most important stars.

However, Musiala has just two years remaining on his contract and has so far resisted any attempts to renew, prompting interest from the likes of Liverpool, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, although the Independent claim that City are ahead of all their rivals in the pursuit for the playmaker.

Musiala is believed to have reservations over Bayern’s ability to compete at the highest level, having seen the club lose their grip on the Bundesliga this season, and this has led interested sides to lay the foundations for a transfer either this summer or next year.

City are understood to be seeking improvements to their attacking core this summer, with Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva both approaching or into their thirties, and Musiala is on the club’s shortlist along with players such as Michael Olise and Lucas Paqueta.

Why Musiala’s ‘best fit’ is in Manchester, not Munich

Musiala is thought to favour a return to England if he were to leave Bayern and a transfer to City could be a natural progression for the youngster to succeed a player like De Bruyne and learn under an elite coach such as Pep Guardiola.

SciSports, who use data-driven analytics to give a statistical insight into a player, believe Musiala’s best fit is to remain with Bayern, while Liverpool are the top English option, slightly edging out City.

With Bayern still proving competitive in the Champions League, City would represent one of few clubs in world football who could be considered a genuine step up for a player who is considered by many to have Balon d’Or potential.

Although Liverpool would perhaps offer a greater chance of regular first team football, the Reds will be facing an uncertain future in the post Jurgen Klopp era and would be a bigger gamble for Musiala.

STATS

Jamal Musiala

AM (CL), DM (L)

FC Bayern Munich

Jamal Musiala

AM (CL), DM (L)

FC Bayern Munich

All Tournaments

2023/24

• 32

  Games

• 12

  Goals

• 8

  Assists

View all stats

City’s pursuit of Musiala is a no brainer and the player himself will likely have no better option if his goal is to win trophies and continue growing his pedigree in the most competitive league in the world.