England and Germany set for battle to claim Bayern Munich prodigy Jamal Musiala as 17-year-old faces choice over national side
- Jamal Musiala has both England and Germany fighting over his services
- The 17-year-old Bayern Munich star has had a breakthrough season in Germany
- Musiala has lived in England and played for Chelsea but was born in Stuttgart
- He’s set to join-up with England under-21s but the German FA will respond
Bayern Munich’s teen star Jamal Musiala will join up with England Under 21s next week but is in line to be invited to train with Germany as well as the two nations battle it out over one of the promising young players in the Bundesliga.
The 17-year-old left winger has made a major breakthrough, scoring twice for the European champions this season and making seven appearances coming off the bench and starting in a DFB Cup match against FC Duren.
Born in Stuttgart to a Nigerian father and a German mother, the family moved to England when he was a child. He also qualifies for Nigeria but is likely to opt for either England or Germany.
Bayern Munich teenager Jamal Musiala is causing a battle between two powerhouse nations
The 17-year-old (left) has had a breakthrough year in 2020, appearing for Bayern’s first-team
Musiala has accepted England’s call-up to their U21 squad for the upcoming internationals
He joined Chelsea as a schoolboy and attended Whitgift School in Croydon, where Callum Hudson-Odoi and Victor Moses went.
He moved to Bayern Munich when he was 16, speaks both German and English, has British citizenship and has played for both Germany and England at age-group levels.
At present, FIFA rules state that you only become bound to one country when you have made a competitive senior team appearance.
Though England will be encouraged that he has accepted the U21s call, it is sure to provoke a response from the German FA, who maintain good relations with the player and he will receive a call to their U21s in the next international break in 2021.
Musiala (bottom row, second right) has represented both nations at different age groups
Musiala’s choice is typical of young English players and England manager Gareth Southgate has said previously how almost all England players at U18 and U16 level have dual or even tri nationality options.
It comes as England take on the Republic of Ireland in a friendly on Thursday, to prepare for their Nations League clashes with Belgium and Iceland next week.
Jack Grealish, who has played for the Republic’s U21 team, is likely to start that game, while Declan Rice, who made a senior team appearance for Ireland in a friendly before switching to England, is expected to miss out against the land of his grandparents, as he will be saved for the clash against Belgium.
Musiala is one of many young talents to have move to from Germany and thrived
Southgate says that he will not worry about any diplomatic issues selecting his team. ‘With Declan, we’ve got the same situation with Jack and with Michael Keane. But I can’t think too much about that.
‘We’ve always got to get the balance right of not capping them too early, just to stop them going elsewhere, we want to be fair to them so they can have a career.
‘We played Wales last month and they had a couple of players who were with us as youngsters: Tyler Roberts and Ethan Ampadu. We didn’t want to lose them.’
England will not face Eden Hazard in their Nations League match with Belgium after he contracted coronavirus.