Southampton will be watching on with gritted teeth as a player who left the club for nothing is playing a starring role at Euro 2024.
Southampton‘s academy has long been the envy of a number of clubs, with the likes of Matt Le Tissier, Alan Shearer, Theo Walcott and Gareth Bale all notable graduates.
However, in recent seasons the production line of talent has been far less prolific, with Luke Shaw and James Ward-Prowse arguably the last real successes to come out of the club’s youth system.
Southampton are not particularly well represented at this summer’s European Championships, with Jan Bednarek, Che Adams and Stuart Armstrong the only players contracted to the club to be representing their respective nations.
However, one player who briefly played in the club’s academy looks set to be one of the tournament’s brightest stars, leaving Southampton fans wondering what might have been.
Jamal Musiala spent time in Southampton’s academy
Jamal Musiala is a star for both Germany and the biggest club in his home nation, Bayern Munich.
However, things could have been very different for the now 21-year-old who was born in Germany but move to Southampton aged seven.
Having initially travelled to Southampton with his family as his mother completed a four-month Erasmus as part of her university studies, Musiala was soon picked up by the Saints following a successful trial match in which he scored double figures.
Despite being just 7-years-old, Musiala was described by the head of the Southampton academy at the time, Terry Moore, as the “most talented kid he had ever seen” according to youth coach Rosh Bhatti.
Bhatti even spoke of how Nicola Cortese – the club’s executive chairman in 2011 – was so desperate to convince young Musiala to commit to a long-term youth deal at the club that he set up meetings with him despite being just seven.
Ultimately, Cortese was unsuccessful though, as Musiala made the move to join Chelsea’s academy just two years after arriving at Southampton.
Musiala compared to the great Lionel Messi
Not only did Southampton lose a player who could well have been the greatest to ever pass through their academy, England have also seen Musiala slip through their grasp.
Despite representing the Three Lions for much of his youth career, Musiala chose to represent Germany over England and has since amassed 30 caps at just 21.
With Germany hosting Euro 2024, the pressure is on Musiala and his teammates to deliver.
The man who left Chelsea to join Bayern in 2019 will not shy away from this and introduced himself to the competition emphatically as he added Germany’s second after 19 minutes in their 5-1 demolition of Scotland in the opening game.
German legend Lothar Matthaus identified Musiala as a future legend of the game two years ago, claiming: “He can be the Messi of the future, he is excellent.”
“I have loved him for the last two years, I love his style of football and I love his personality.
“He is 19 years old, he is doing the things that will make him a top footballer. He has great passing, he is clever with his thinking and he loves football.
“Musiala can be the next Messi because when Messi was 17/18 years old, I met him for the first time when he played against Hungary [the team Matthaus managed then] and he got sent off after 40 seconds.
“He came onto the field and tried to show he loves football, he has a passion for football. I have been a big fan of him from two years ago when he first broke through.”
A World Cup and European Championship winner with Germany, Matthaus knows what it takes to succeed for his country and Musiala will be looking to replicate the 63-year-old’s achievements.
Now worth over £100 million, Southampton and England fans alike may well just spend the next month wishing things had turned out differently, but Musiala will be a joy to watch regardless.