Bayern switches focus to Musiala replacement
Bayern Munich is looking for new face to step in after Jamal Musiala's broken leg at the FIFA Club World Cup ruled him out for a considerable length of time.
The 22-year-old sustained a fibula fracture with a broken and dislocated ankle after a collision with Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma at the end of the first half of their quarter-final match.
Musiala has been a key attacked for Bayern since making his first team debut against Freiburg in June 2020 and becoming the youngest player to play a match for Bayern in the Bundesliga, aged 17 years and 115 days.
In September of the same year, he became the club's youngest goalscorer in the league when he bagged a goal in an 8–0 thrashing of Schalke aged 17 years and 205 days.
Musiala finished the season with 21 goals and eight assists in all competitions as Bayern won the Bundesliga title.
But Bayern coach Vincent Kompany believes Bayern already knows how to deal without the star forward in the side, but he didn't reveal who would step in, nor if that player might be a new addition to the club's roster.
"I think we already have some options, as we saw throughout the [2024-2025] season. We played many times without Jamal," he said.
Musiala was replaced by Serge Gnabry after suffering a hamstring injury last season, but he was rotated with the now departed Thomas Muller.
Another option could be Michael OIise, who had a stellar debut Bundesliga campaign after joining from Crystal Palace.
Olise score 12 goals and assisted 15 as he played a huge part in helping to bring the Bundesliga title back to Munich.
But Olise is more used to playing as a winger and could take time to adjust if Kompany does see him as the option to fill the void left by Musiala.
One option from outside the club could be RB Leipzig's Xavi Simons, whom Kompany is keen on signing, according to reports in German media, but as yet no approach or detail has been provided on that possibilty.
Since having surgery, Musiala has said no one is to blame for the injury he suffered.
"The surgery went really well, I'm in good care and I wanted to say there's no one to blame for this," Musiala wrote in an Instagram post after going under the knife in Atlanta.
"I think situations like this happen and now I'm just going to use the next period of time to build up my strength and positivity again."
