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Against my better judgement, a few comments on Musiala, partly because the coverage about him seems to be tilted one way and there's a balance to be found.
It should almost go without saying that I think he's a wonderful talent and none of this is about his ability or potential (you can search back in my feed for what I thought of him). It's a more broader point about his move and how he's now viewed because hype is intoxicating.
Understandably, young English players going abroad attracts attention, even more so when they go to a top three club in the world and make a relatively instant impact. No problem. He's well ahead of schedule and has grabbed his chance with both hands.
'Why did Chelsea let him go?' is a pointless question though. They didn't. They made him a very good offer at a stage in his career where he was free to consider his options. They thought he was signing until days before he left. It was a surprise and a disappointment.
He got a VERY generous offer from Bayern; make no mistake about it. The football pathway is one thing but don't kid yourself into thinking they didn't make it an attractive deal all-round. Chelsea had some concerns about his size but that Bayern diet seems to be working for him.
And that's fine too; this is the game now. It's how Chelsea get players from big European clubs, it's how the game works, and you're gonna lose a few just as often as you get a few. Young players are more ambitious than ever and that's great.
(The dual-national thing comes into it a bit as well but not a huge amount)
We're told he's getting chances he wouldn't have got at Chelsea; true to an extent. He's playing for a team several orders of magnitude better than anyone else in the same league. Coming on to score at 8-0 and 5-0 up alongside superstars is a very nice way to ease yourself in.
He got plenty of acclaim for a performance against a fifth-tier side in the cup. Had he stayed at Chelsea he'd probably be playing against third or fourth tier teams in the EFL trophy, and without the benefit of world-class team-mates around him. Much difference? Dunno.
Last season Chelsea gave debuts to 17 year-olds in Tino Anjorin and Ian Maatsen, while Lewis Bate was a sub without getting on. Different circumstances, different clubs, but a pathway nonetheless. It's just how football works sometimes.
Anyway, it's a bit of a ramble but Musiala is a talented kid with a long way to go. He's at a great club for his development, but the same would have still been true at Chelsea to some extent.
There's also a really interesting dynamic to discuss about how breakthrough players during the pandemic are doing it in empty stadiums and how they'll fare when crowds return is something of an unknown, but that's for another day.
Musiala's success, and the successes of anyone who has passed through the Chelsea academy (or and/or off the pitch) also reflects the exceptional commitment and work done by so many people at Cobham (and attached to Cobham).
Assorted disclaimers there because success isn't defined by anyone but yourself, and it takes a cast of plenty to raise young people into adulthood, only some of those are at football clubs. Everyone's story is different but no less important than the next person's.
