Manchester City are plotting a mouth-watering move for Bayern Munich wonderkid Jamal Musiala, the Independent reports.
The 21-year-old is widely regarded as one of the most highly-rated players on the continent and is attracting plenty of interest, but City are believed to be the front-runners.
Musiala is reportedly unsettled at the Allianz Arena and wants assurances over Bayern’a ability to compete after a frustrating campaign under Thomas Tuchel’s leadership.
The German giants are on the cusp of relinquishing the Bundesliga title to Bayer Leverkusen, who are one win away from clinching the trophy.
Having also suffered defeat in the German Super Cup and elimination from the DFB Pokal, Bayern face the prospect of a first trophyless campaign in over a decade.
The Champions League could be their only saving grace, but an evenly contested 2-2 draw against Arsenal in the quarter-final first leg suggests they face a tall order to secure European football’s holy grail.
Tuchel will leave the club at the end of the season, but there is no clarity regarding his successor, although Roberto De Zerbi and Julian Nagelsmann have been linked with the soon-to-be vacant job.
Several clubs are looking to exploit the uncertainty in the Bayern camp by snatching some of their prized assets, and there’s a belief that Musiala could be lured away either this year or next.
The German has a contract that runs until 2026 but has shown no inclination toward extending the deal any further, and City are closely monitoring his situation in Munich.
The treble winners want to improve their attacking areas this summer and are targeting a couple of players capable of featuring anywhere across the front line.
Musiala falls perfectly into that category, and any deal for the Germany international will undoubtedly represent a major coup for the Champions League holders.
Such a high-profile move would necessitate an exit of identical scale, but Musiala could be a like-for-like replacement for Kevin De Bruyne.
The playmaker is approaching the final year of his contract and has been linked with a mega-money move to Saudi Arabia.
