Chelsea Face Stiff Competition From Man City For ‘Really Exceptional’ Ex-Academy Graduate

Chelsea are ready to face off against Manchester City in the 2023/24 FA Cup semi-final at Wembley and desperately need to win to keep their dreams of winning the first silverware under Mauricio Pochettino alive for this season. Now, there seems to be an off-the-field battle that might happen between the two for Bayern Munich forward Jamal Musiala too.

Chelsea Keeping Eye On Bayern Munich Star Jamal Musiala

Chelsea Monitoring Musiala’s Situation Amid Manchester City Interest

The Guardian’s Jacob Steinburg claims that the Blues are keeping their tabs on the ongoing situation of Musiala at the German club, with the Englishman yet to sign an extension to his contract, which expires in 2026. It is added that Bayern do not want to lose the 21-year-old at all and are ready to demand a gigantic fee to ward off potential interested parties.

Steinburg also adds that Manchester City are planning to make a big push for Musiala in the summer window as Pep Guardiola wants more options in the attacking midfield area, which has led to him pointing at the Germany international to be his top target for that. The journalist further claims that any indication from Musiala himself wanting a new challenge in his career could grab the attention from major clubs and that Chelsea are awaiting something like this before planning to make a potential move for him.

What Connection Does Musiala Have With Chelsea?

Musiala, who was born in Germany, actually moved to England at the age of seven with his family. He would initially dip into English football by joining Southampton soon after moving to the country, but then Chelsea convinced him to join their youth academy in 2011. The German midfielder played for the Blues at various youth levels, including for their under-18 team and making three appearances in the under-18 Premier League.

However, lack of game-time convinced Musiala to leave and join Bayern Munich in 2019, after which he started to soar at the club level and also at the international stages for Germany. impressing at the 2022 World Cup.  The 21-year-old, who was hailed as “really exceptional” by Michael Owen last year, has scored 12 goals and provided seven assists in 36 appearances for Bayern this season.

He’s naturally an attacking midfielder who can also play in either of the wide areas with ease, which is probably why Chelsea are interested in bringing him back. For the time being, it remains to be seen if the Blues can somehow bring their prized academy graduate back to Stamford Bridge and beat Manchester City to his signing in the near future.