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Football London
Football London
Sport
Tom Coley

Jamal Musiala has told Todd Boehly why Chelsea should sign Jude Bellingham

It will be hard to avoid a serious case of 'what-if' from dominating the thoughts of Chelsea fans as England face Germany at Wembley.

The match, a dead rubber for Gareth Southgate's side that were relegated from their Nations League group after defeat against Italy, will be the last one before the winter World Cup but also a coming together of several current and former Blues stars in London.

With Reece James, Raheem Sterling, Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell all in the England squad, alongside Kai Havertz in Hansi Flick's team, there may well be a lot of interest from Graham Potter in the match. His interests will be further raised to see how some of the young stars on view get on.

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With Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori both former-Chelsea players - though the latter has been left out of the squad and won't have played a minute during the two matches - Timo Werner, Antonio Rudiger and Jamal Musiala will also be on show, all players that have left the club. Declan Rice, a former Cobham boy too, will also be involved.

That's 10 players with immediate Chelsea allegiances, not a bad group either. Potter may also want to look at Jude Bellingham who may well be a key summer target for the club as Todd Boehly plans to move onto a midfield rebuild next summer.

Musiala grew up in England after moving to the country at a young age but chose to leave Chelsea and return to Germany as a teenager where Bayern Munich have since turned him into one of the brightest young sparks in the European game. At just 19-years-old Musiala already has six goals and three assists in 10 matches for all competitions this season.

Speaking ahead of the match, he admitted to being in contact with former Chelsea and England players. "My friends message me here and there and say I should have played for England and we joke around but I think they are still happy for my decision," he said. "I'm sure some England fans won't be happy but I think that means I'm doing good if it upsets some people that I didn't choose their country.

"In the youth, I was close with Jude [Bellingham], Tino Livramento, a couple of players that I played with. All of these have amazing qualities and was fun and I still have contact with most of these players now. I wouldn't say a lot of chat going on, we talk here and there. We don't really talk that much about the football side of things."

Livramento, Chelsea's academy player of the year in 2021, left the club to join Southampton last summer after being unconvinced of the path available to him with Reece James the first choice at Chelsea and also England. As for Bellingham, a player Chelsea greatly admire, he has been heavily praised by many around the game and Musiala's experiences having played against him in the biggest game in Germany brings no surprises that he is thought of well by his opponent at club and international level, but friend off the field.

If Chelsea needed any more indication as to how good of a player Bellingham is, then Musiala telling them exactly why they should sign the fellow teenager is as good of a reason as any.

Musiala also said: "When I was younger it was always my dream to play at Wembley or to be part of one of these big games, for me it was not exactly where I was, I just loved playing football and I think that was my dream to be involved and to be part of a squad where I can contribute a lot.

"I'm just happy where I am right now. Yeah, like I said, it was definitely not an easy decision to make, it was a decision that I thought about for a long time. I think when it all came together with me and my family, it was a decision I felt very comfortable with and thought a long time about.

"Right now, I'm happy with my decision, when I make my decision, I don't look back with any regrets. My time in the youth level, England have amazing talents, playing with many of them, the under-21s, 19s there are many players who will have an amazing career, I think England's youth system is very good to build on these talents and to make sure they get better."

Both players look destined to do great things and have had the benefit of experiencing both England and Germany's youth system. Chelsea have already had Musiala slip through their fingers and will be determined not to let Bellingham go the same way.

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