So far, this summer transfer period has not been too kind to Bayern Munich.
The German giants have been trying to sign another option for their attacking line for weeks, but with Florian Wirtz joining Liverpool and Nico Williams deciding to stay at Athletic Bilbao, their operation has been disappointing.
The pressure in the German media has been getting bigger for Bayern Munich Director Of Sport, Max Eberl.
At the same time, Vincent Kompany also wants to add more players to his squad, so the FC Bayern transfer saga has been rather roughly portrayed in the media.
To add insult to injury, in the game against PSG during the FIFA Club World Cup, Jamal Musiala suffered a serious injury after chasing an open ball and getting swept off his feet by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Musiala has been a stand-out player for FC Bayern and the German national team over the last couple of seasons, and now Jamal Musiala’s injury adds another problem for Max Eberl to fix.
The young German superstar played on the left wing and as an attacking midfielder, providing a lot of value for Kompany over the past couple of months.
Not only is he elite in condensed space, but his first touch and dribbling ability are essential for Bayern Munich to create opportunities through the middle of the field.
Even more important is his ability to score goals from everywhere in and around the box.
His shooting technique has improved immensely since he started out in the Bundesliga at 17 years of age.
In this tactical analysis and recruitment analysis, we will examine three players that Bayern Munich should consider to enhance their offence and fill the gap caused by Musiala’s injury.
To make things more interesting, in this Bayern Munich analysis, we will not examine Nick Woltemade as Bayern want him, and he wants to join them.
Christopher Nkunku To Bayern Munich?
The first player we will examine has also been connected loosely to Bayern Munich for some time now: Christopher Nkunku.
Nkunku is still under contract at Chelsea until 2029, but according to multiple sources would be willing to leave London after just two years.
Nkunku would be a perfect fit in terms of position.
Just like Musiala, the Frenchman can play as an attacking midfielder and on the left wing.
But more than just that, Nkunku also already has experience in the Bundesliga, playing for RB Leipzig for four years, accumulating 70 goals and 56 assists in 172 games, a remarkable feat.
More than that, Nkunku is a stylistically fitting player to replace Jamal Musiala and can also play with the German on the field.
Another positive thing is the French connection at FC Bayern; Nkunku would meet a couple of familiar faces there, allowing him to settle in more easily.
One of the most important things Jamal Musiala provided for Kompany and his teammates this past season was his play at the edge of the box, and Nkunku would be perfect to replace him there.
Nkunku is incredibly versatile in the final third.
He can provide runs behind the defensive line and show up in the creative centre of his team’s attacks.
In the picture above, we can see a situation in which Chelsea tried to finish off an attack in the final third.
His first instinct here is to make a run behind the defensive line.
The opposing backline is stretched out way too much (look at how open Nicolas Jackson is in the middle), and Nknunku cleverly drags the near-sided centre-back out of position.
He then starts his run to gain inside leverage over his marker.
Chelsea still decided to penetrate the box with a dribble rather than with a pass, which was a rather bad decision, but it allowed Nkunku to show his versatility.
The moment he realises that his run is of no use, he instantly orients himself again and drops back laterally back towards the edge of the box.
Instead of just forcing another run, he drops back into the open space, right into the gap between the centre-back and the holding midfielder, allowing his teammate to thread the pass to him.
Now he finds himself open in the centre of the box, right where he wants to be.
Unfortunately, his body position is bad compared to the goal, which makes it hard to use the space effectively.
But now Nkunku shows his individual brilliance that is very reminiscent of Musiala.
With his first touch, Nkunku flicks his hips to turn around and now has a wide open body position towards the other side of the field.
Now, he can use his second touch to shoot, and he does that rather well, going for the far-sided post, but the keeper saves the shot here.
These situations show what Nkunku can provide around the box, and it’s precisely what Musiala provided for Bayern Munich last season.
With his well-timed runs, movement at the edge of the box, dribbling, and first touch, the Frenchman brings many of the abilities that the German international brought to the table.
Additionally, Nkunku is a goalscoring threat from in and around the box, a good dribbler, and has Bundesliga experience.
Bayern Munich would be remiss not to at least take a look at Nkunku this summer.
Xavi Simons To Bayern Munich?
The second player we will examine closely is Xavi Simons, a young polyvalent attacking midfielder from RB Leipzig.
The Dutch international has now finished playing his second season in Germany, scoring 17 goals and assisting 20 in 57 Bundesliga games so far in his career.
At just 22 years of age, Xavi Simons has been in the spotlight for a while now.
Starting out at La Masía, the famous academy of Barcelona, the media has been portraying him as the next superstar since he was just a teenager.
After leaving Barcelona, Simons joined the PSG academy.
After a successful loan spell at PSV Eindhoven, he joined Die Roten Bullen.
One of Xavi Simons biggest strengths is his ability to play anywhere in the attack.
It doesn’t matter if he plays as an attacking midfielder or on the wing; Simons can impact the game from anywhere in the final third.
Xavi Simons game against VfB Stuttgart at the end of the last Bundesliga season is a case in point.
Xavi Simons played as the left attacking midfielder in a 4-2-2-2 formation that game, but as you can see in the picture above, he roamed around a lot.
In this case, he pushes forward into Stuttgart’s backline and then drops back into the traditional number 10 space right between the backline and the midfielders.
This does two things: for once, he is now able to receive a line-breaking pass right in front of the backline.
The second thing is that it opens up space on the left wing for his left-back, David Raum, to make a run forward.
Simons receives the ball and turns towards the right side with his first touch in this situation.
Now he showcases what makes him such an exceptional talent.
Simons has elite technical ability and agility, which makes him one of the best dribblers in the world.
The Stuttgart defenders are trying to close in on him here, as he is the biggest threat in this situation, but even two players are not enough to stop Xavi.
He orients himself early, shields off the ball well and uses his dribbling to break into the box with ease.
While his dribbling is definitely his biggest strength, he is also a player who loves to play liquid football and quick combinations.
In this situation, he plays the ball to the outside and instantly keeps moving towards the goal.
He can play a quick one-two combination and gets the ball back right at the six-yard box.
The run is perfectly timed and right in the back of the last defender left, allowing him to break free with ease.
To top things off, he even finishes the opportunity here, with his backheel, once again showcasing his elite technical ability and quick decision-making in the final third.
Simons is one of the most technically gifted players in the world.
His quick decision-making ability, dribbling, and flair make him an asset to every team.
The problem for Bayern Munich would probably be the price; Leipzig just invested a hefty sum to sign him on a permanent deal in January, and will want to make a profit from a sale.
Harvey Elliott To Bayern Munich?
Max Eberl and Bayern Munich watched the 2025 U21 European Championships this summer just to see how Nick Woltemade did.
While the Bayern Munich target arguably was the best player at the U21 Euros, another elite talent managed to beat him out for player of the tournament: Harvey Elliott.
Like Xavi Simons, Elliott has been in the media spotlight since he was a teenager.
He made his Liverpool debut at just 16 years old, and after a successful loan spell at Blackburn Rovers, he is now part of the first team for Arne Slot and has just won his second Premier League title.
While Elliott has played on the right wing for most of his professional career, he is also able to play as an attacking midfielder, where he played more often at the youth level, but also at the end of the 2024/2025 season for the Reds.
Elliott has elite short-area quickness and is great at carrying the ball.
His inverse playing style allows him to be a threat from around the box at all times, just what Musiala brought to Bayern Munich last season.
The young Englishman is able to always find solutions in the half-spaces, especially from the right-hand side.
With his good shooting technique and good off-the-ball movement, Elliott is often able to find opportunities from around the box.
He showed that off in the U21 Euros, where he scored multiple goals that way.
Overall, his finishing is definitely one of his biggest talents; he is clinical like a striker in the box while still having the mobility and flair of a midfielder.
Here we can see a situation for Liverpool this past season.
Elliott was playing as a right winger, but moved inwards into the half-space a lot.
He has a great feel for space on the far side of the ball.
He moves well in the space that Southampton give him because they need to shift to the left side, and Elliott is not stationary at any time in this situation.
While he was wide open here, he did not receive the ball with his first pass.
Cody Gakpo dribbled the ball into the centre of the field, and Elliott initially moved like he wanted to receive the square pass here.
This drags the centre-back out of his position, because he now has to put pressure on Elliott and Gakpo.
Elliott knows that and started his run perfectly timed behind the centre-back, something that Musiala did a lot for Kompany’s men this season, and now is wide open to receive a through pass thanks to his elite movement and feel for space.
He then dribbles the ball into the box and shows great patience, dragging two defenders towards him but keeping them far away to get his shot off.
He then finishes with his weaker right foot into the far side corner, a great shot, once again showing his elite finishing ability and shooting technique that make him such a goal-scoring threat.
Overall, I think Elliott would benefit from leaving Liverpool and joining a team where he gets more minutes and can play in more of a central position.
While he is a decent winger, his best actions come from the centre of the field.
With his immense talent, I think a breakthrough season for him will come sooner rather than later when he is given playing time and a position that better fits his style.
The problem is that few English talents leave the Premier League for the Bundesliga after already making the first team.
On the other hand, his teammate Jarell Quansah is now leaving LFC to join Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, so maybe Elliott will follow suit.
I think it could be beneficial for all sides.
Conclusion
Ultimately, it will be hard to replace Jamal Musiala, and Max Eberl knows that.
The young German international is one of the most talented players in the world right now, and his impact over the last season at Bayern Munich is simply amazing at his young age.
For Bayern Munich, replacing Musiala’s production and qualities in the final third will be crucial, but finding a player to match his contributions will be extremely challenging.
The three players presented in this article would all be able to replace some key qualities that Musiala brings to the team, while also being able to play with him once he recovers from his broken fibula.
For me, Christopher Nkunku would be the preferred option if I had to make the decision.
The Frenchman is very talented, a goalscoring threat, dangerous around the box, just like Musiala, and has extensive experience in the Bundesliga.
Still, the other two options are worth considering, even though their skill sets differ more from Musiala’s than Nkunku’s does.
Bayern Munich now have a busy couple of months ahead of them, with the transfers of Luis Díaz and Nick Woltemade being worked on.
Perhaps one of the players featured in this article will also join Bayern Munich this summer and assistHarry Kane and Michael Olise.
