Bayern Munich: Musiala's Return, Freund's Future, Kane's Champions League Ambitions
Bayern Munich are easing Jamal Musiala back into the spotlight, weighing up the future of sporting director Christoph Freund and riding the burning ambition of Harry Kane to finally reclaim Europe. The club may be early in the season, but the stakes already feel heavy.
Musiala back on the pitch – but on a tight plan
At Schalke on Saturday, the ball found its way back to Jamal Musiala. Competitive minutes for Bayern at last. The 23-year-old stepped off the bench in the 57th minute, replacing Lennart Karl, and immediately injected some energy into a laboured performance.
The 0-0 against the promoted side will not live long in the memory, and Musiala’s own game was far from flawless. Passes went astray, combinations broke down. Yet he looked sharp, busy, willing to take duels. He played with a robustness that mattered more than any dribble or shot on the night.
This was his first competitive appearance after a deeply worrying spell. Musiala had been pulled out of action weeks earlier following collapses in two friendly matches, traced back to a neurological dysfunction. Bayern reacted by shutting everything down.
He missed the Supercup in Dortmund against Borussia Dortmund (2-1), sat out the Bundesliga opener against VfB Stuttgart (5-1) and watched the DFB-Pokal first round at VfL Osnabrück (3-1) from the sidelines. For a player used to being a central figure, it was a jarring pause.
“After the incidents, we gave him some of the calm he needed,” said Bayern’s board member for sport Max Eberl after the draw in Gelsenkirchen.
The club adjusted his medication, monitored him closely and only cleared him once doctors, coaches and the player himself agreed he was ready. Eberl made one thing clear: once Musiala is in the squad, he is “absolutely an option” and will be “brought back in straight away”. Bayern want him back deciding games.
The comeback, though, will not be reckless. According to Bild, Musiala will be phased in carefully, his minutes increased “step by step”. Planned breaks are part of the concept to control his workload and avoid overload. Every stage of his return is being coordinated tightly with coach Vincent Kompany.
The message is obvious: Bayern want the old Musiala back – but not at any price.
Freund weighs up his future role
While Musiala builds back on the pitch, another key figure is pondering his path off it.
As reported by the Münchner Abendzeitung, Bayern are pushing to extend the contract of sporting director Christoph Freund, currently running until 2027. The club would like clarity before the annual general meeting in November. With chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen and Max Eberl already tied down beyond next summer, Bayern are looking to lock in their leadership triangle, with the Austrian as the third pillar.
For now, Freund is said to be in a “consideration phase”. One factor, according to AZ, is the future of chief scout Nils Schmadtke. Schmadtke, seen as close to Eberl, is also under contract until 2027. Should he leave, Freund could appoint a chief scout of his own choosing and shape the scouting structure more directly.
Inside the club, the signs still lean towards an extension. Freund’s reputation remains strong, especially regarding his work around the Campus and youth development. His relationship with Kompany is described as very good, a crucial detail at a time when alignment between sporting management and coach is non-negotiable.
Bayern want stability at the top. Freund now has to decide how much he wants to own the next phase of this project.
Kane’s unfinished business: “It has to be our year”
On the pitch, Bayern’s ambitions are crystal clear. Harry Kane has no interest in easing into the new Champions League campaign. He wants to win it. Now.
“We are very close,” the 33-year-old said ahead of Thursday night’s group opener against Bodö/Glimt (9pm, DAZN) on TNT Sports. Last season’s semi-final exit against eventual champions Paris Saint-Germain still stings. Fine margins cut deep at this level, and Kane knows it. “Last season, small details made the difference. We are going into this season and saying: It has to be our year.”
Bayern are hunting their seventh European Cup/Champions League crown, and the expectation around Säbener Straße reflects that hunger. Kane, the star striker brought in to tilt exactly these kinds of nights in Bayern’s favour, is at the heart of that drive.
He also knows the competition is unforgiving. In the Champions League, it is “not just about being the best team. Sometimes you also need the necessary luck at the right moment,” he said. The question, as he put it, is whether Bayern can find that “small difference” required to go all the way. That is his personal target – and, as he stressed, the target of the entire squad.
This is why retirement talk barely crosses his mind. The captain of the England national team still sees too many gaps in his trophy cabinet. “There are still things at club level that I want to win. The same applies to the national team,” said Kane, who racked up a remarkable 73 goals for Bayern and England last season. For him, it is about stretching this peak for as long as possible, squeezing every last title out of these years.
Musiala’s careful reintroduction, Freund’s contract puzzle, Kane’s obsession with the Champions League – all of it points in the same direction. Bayern are not rebuilding quietly. They are trying to shape a squad, a structure and a mentality that can carry them back to the summit of Europe.
Whether this really “has to be their year” will be decided under the floodlights of the Champions League, not in the calm of early September.
