Manchester City are planning a big push to sign Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala this summer. Josep Guardiola wants more options in attacking midfield and Musiala has emerged as his top target.
Bayern will not want to lose the German international, who has a two-year contract, and could demand a huge transfer fee to scare away suitors. The 21-year-old, who can play in a variety of positions in attack, has made remarkable progress since leaving Chelsea five years ago and has become a mainstay in the Bundesliga.
It will be a big summer for Bayern, whose run of 11 straight league titles was ended last weekend by Bayer Leverkusen. With Thomas Tuchel leaving as head coach, the team needs reinforcements. Tuchel’s successor has yet to be decided.
One of the challenges for Bayern may be convincing Musiala of their level of ambition. They still have hope of saving the team after knocking Arsenal out of the Champions League. Bayern, who have not reached the final since winning the Champions League in 2020, will face Real Madrid in the last four.
Any signs that Musiala is leaning toward wanting a new challenge will likely attract the attention of powerful clubs. City’s interest is ongoing and Chelsea are monitoring the situation closely. Musiala, who chose to play in Germany rather than England, came from Chelsea’s youth set-up, but part of his departure was due to concerns over a lack of opportunities.
City are at the front of the line. Guardiola has no shortage of attacking midfielders, but his usual fluency in the final third was not on display when his team lost on penalties to Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals.
There is an argument that City have not fully replaced the goalscoring and incisions of Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez since last summer. Phil Foden has had a productive season and Kevin De Bruyne still plays an important role, but Jack Grealish hasn’t had the impact he had last season due to injury and Julián Alvarez has lost some of his consistency. Lacking.
There are also questions about the sale of Cole Palmer, who has scored 23 goals since joining Chelsea. Jeremy Doku has been exciting but raw since joining from Rennes. Matheus Nunez, signed from Wolves in the summer, was a substitute and did not play in the match against Madrid. Sources familiar with Palmer’s deal believe the 21-year-old was a free spirit and needed to leave City as Guardiola did not consider him to be a good fit within the structure of the team. .
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City’s targets away from Musiala include West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta and Crystal Palace’s Ebereshi Eze. Paqueta’s move will depend on whether the Football Association suspends its investigation into alleged gambling violations by the Brazilian midfielder, who denies any wrongdoing.
City were interested in Eze last summer, but the midfielder has had a frustrating spell this season with injuries and is rebuilding his sharpness. Scoring Palace’s win over Liverpool last weekend was a positive sign. City are also monitoring Eze’s teammate Michael Oliseh.
