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Markus Babbel casts concern over Jamal Musiala as 2022 World Cup looms


World beware; Germany are resurgent. Under former Bayern Munich boss Hansi Flick, Die Mannschaft have posted an 8-1-0 record under the Heidelberg-native in the wake of a disappointing Euro 2020 performance where they crashed out of the Round of 16 in a 2-0 loss against rivals England.

Since Flick had taken the reigns from iconic manager Joachim Löw, Germany have bagged 31 goals while also leaving the door open for a cadre of highly-gifted young players the likes of Florian Wirtz, Ridle Baku, Nico Schlotterbeck, and Karim Adeyemi to continue to push for places in the team moving forward. Another one of those young players is former England youth international Jamal Musiala.

Though born in Stuttgart and raised in Fulda until the age of seven, Musiala was raised in England and went on to spend eight years in Chelsea's vaunted Cobham academy set up from 2011-19 before being pipped by German giants Bayern Munich, where he would make his debut one year later and, to date, has featured 71-times for the Rekordmeister while scoring 13-goals across all competitions.

Despite not yet reaching the age of 20, Musiala has won 11 caps for Germany since his national team debut in 2021 after making youth appearances for both Germany and England and is one of the brightest stars in the national program.

His tactical flexibility has made him a very credible squad member at the Allianz Arena, capable of slotting into at least four or five positions across his young career in Bavaria to date, but his lack of minutes has been listed as a cause for concern for former Bayern Munich and Germany international Markus Babbel.

In a recent interview with Bet365, Babbel was asked about the seemingly limitless potential that Musiala possesses and just how far he can go at club level while playing a potentially vital role for Germany in years to come, but remained sceptical in his response.

"He's a massive talent, unbelievable what he can do with the ball," the 51-cap defender said. "He wants to learn and improve but the problem is he's not playing regularly. Even (Julian) Naglesmann has said he's not playing enough.

"It's always difficult to find a spot for him at Bayern Munich with the talent they have in that team, but he can make the difference in matches. He understands the game. I really cross my fingers for him that he plays more regularly for Bayern Munich and the German national team."

With a wealth of talent both in both camps for club and country, Musiala certainly has his work cut out for him if he is to establish himself as a vital cog in the wheel for Bayern and Germany.

The fact that he started in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Villarreal shows that he remains a trusted asset under Nagelsmann and that should continue to bode well for his chances to feature prominently for Germany in Qatar.


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