A colleague once said that the least restful travelling berth for a Bayern Munich or Germany player is in the seat next to Thomas Muller.
Muller is chatty. His nickname is Radio Muller. And it’s not a channel easily taken off air. By this time in a week, the effervescent, evergreen Muller may very well have reached 125 caps for his country, a target he was cheerfully looking forward to as he posted a grinning message on social media as Germany set off for a long-haul adventure, to the USA and Mexico, during the current international break.
Seated next to Muller, readied for a lot of listening, was Mats Hummels, who had until recently imagined voyages with Muller were something firmly in his past.
The recall of Hummels, formerly of Bayern and now deep into his second spell at Borussia Dortmund, to Germany’s squad after more than two years since his most recent and 76th cap is among the eye-catching decisions taken by Julian Nagelsmann since being appointed head coach last month.