Jamal Musiala is regaining his top form at FC Bayern. Now, the 23-year-old could also play a key role as the national team resumes play.
Just a few weeks ago, the main question surrounding Jamal Musiala was when he would even be able to play soccer regularly again. Since then, the situation has changed dramatically. The 23-year-old is back at FC Bayern—and could now become an important player for Jürgen Klopp sooner than initially expected.
Following his health issues, Musiala was initially brought back gradually under Vincent Kompany. In the 0-0 draw at Schalke, he got a good 30 minutes of playing time; against Bodo/Glimt, he made his return to the starting lineup. Musiala scored the crucial 1-0 goal in the 5-0 victory but was substituted after 65 minutes as planned.
The next—and so far most significant—step came against Union Berlin. In the 7-0 win, Musiala played the full 90 minutes for the first time since his break. He scored the opening goal and set up Michael Olise’s 3-0 goal. Afterward, Musiala made it clear just how important playing the full match was for him.
“I feel really good. Every game is a step forward. I know there are still steps I can take, but playing 90 minutes again is a great feeling. I haven’t done that in a long time, and I’m looking forward to what’s next,” he explained to Sky.
Klopp on Musiala: “Everything’s settled”
Now the next test awaits. Musiala has traveled to join the German national team and—unlike many other players from Klopp’s unusually large squad—is expected to spend the entire international break with the DFB. Originally, the plan was primarily to help him regain his rhythm through consistent training and carefully managed playing time.
But Musiala’s progress may already be changing that plan. According to Sky, the Bayern star now feels ready to start in Thursday’s match against the Netherlands. His body is also said to have responded well to the adjustment in his medication.
Klopp also emphasized before the game that Musiala is, in fact, back to 100 percent: “There’s no reason to talk to Jamal about it or even think about it. Everything is settled. What we need is normalcy; what the kid needs is normalcy. We have that here. He’s training completely normally.”
Bayern President Herbert Hainer also sees Musiala as being significantly closer to his former level again. “A weight has been lifted off my shoulders because I believe that on Friday we saw the old Jamal Musiala again for the first time and can also get a sense of what a valuable player he is for us and for Germany.”
For Klopp, this could come at the ideal time. The new national team coach begins his tenure against the Netherlands and must establish an offensive identity for a newly assembled squad as quickly as possible. Musiala brings qualities to the table that few players on the German squad possess: tight ball control, dribbling in tight spaces, and the ability to create scoring opportunities from the center of the field.
An attacking formation featuring Musiala, Kai Havertz, and Karim Adeyemi is considered a possible option for the match in Amsterdam. Klopp could deploy a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formation.
As a result, Musiala’s situation has changed remarkably within just a few weeks. At FC Bayern, the initial focus was on helping the attacking star return to his previous level of performance without taking any risks. Now, he could already become a key factor for Klopp in the very first game of the new DFB era.