It has been one of the worst-kept secrets in German football, but the cat is finally out of the bag: Joachim Löw has recalled Thomas Müller to the Germany squad for this year's European Championships.

Müller was kicked out of the Germany squad in March 2019 along with fellow 2014 World Cup winners Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng, as part of Löw's much-heralded overhaul of the national team set-up in the wake of the debacle of Russia 2018. Hummels has now also returned but Boateng didn't make the cut.

Resurgence at Bayern

While Germany have sunk to further lows, winning only two games in 2020 and crashing out of their Nations League group, Müller has gone on to hit some of the best form of his career, scoring 14 goals and assisting 24 more as Bayern won an historic sextuple in 2020.

And beyond the stats, the empty stadiums during the pandemic have revealed another, less quantifiable aspect of Müller's game: his incessant talking, shouting and cajoling on the pitch.

Earlier this year, Löw opened the door for a potential return for Müller, Hummels and Boateng, telling Kicker magazine that "extraordinary circumstances could justify interrupting the rebuild."

With the pandemic having disrupted his plans and Löw himself announcing that the rescheduled Euro 2020 will be his final tournament in charge, it seems those circumstances are now in place.

German tabloid BILD reported this month that Löw had already telephoned Müller to inform him of his plan to recall him, following up this week with the news that the decision has been made.

For former Bayern and Germany midfielder Michael Ballack, it's a "brave" decision by the 61-year-old Bundestrainer. Others might suggest that Löw now has nothing to lose, having seen his rebuild fail and having announced his departure.

"In terms of his quality, Müller belongs on the pitch for me," Ballack told Kicker. "But even if he doesn't play all the time, he is the sort of player who can lead in a difficult situation with his experience and his personality."

Marco Reus rules himself out

While the majority of the players picked themselves, there was one big surprise before Wednesday's announcement: Borussia Dortmund captain Marco Reus ruled himself out of the tournament on Tuesday night, citing the physical strain of the current season. 

His return to form this year (five goals and seven assists under interim coach Edin Terzic since December) has been a key factor in Dortmund's German Cup triumph and their improbable qualification for the Champions League.

Reus said he will be watching as a fan when Germany kick off their campaign against France in Munich on June 15.