AC Milan was originally set to not increase its bid for U.S. men’s national team midfielder Yunus Musah, but now the Italian club is reportedly closing in on acquiring him permanently.
The Rossoneri has continued talks with Valencia over a permanent deal for Musah, Calcio Mercato reported Wednesday. AC Milan originally submitted a €13 million bid plus bonuses for Musah, which was not accepted by the La Liga side.
However, AC Milan has agreed personal terms with Musah and now is aiming to finalize a transfer fee for the 20-year-old, according to the report.
Musah and Valencia fought off relegation from La Liga this past season, with the American midfielder struggling for consistency down the stretch. He made 37 combined appearances for Valencia in 2022-23, registering two assists.
Musah has totaled 108 combined appearances for Valencia, scoring five goals and registering three assists. The former Arsenal academy player has grown into a top talent for the USMNT, earning 24 caps and lifting the Concacaf Nations League title on two occasions (2021, 2023).
AC Milan has bolstered its midfield this summer with Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tijjani Reijnders already joining the Italian side on permanent deals. Musah’s arrival would connect him with fellow USMNT teammate Christian Pulisic, who also joined this summer.
AC Milan finished fourth in Serie A this past season, clinching it a spot in the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League group stage.
Stefano Pioli’s men have four summer friendlies remaining on their schedule, with three of them coming on American soil. AC Milan opens its Serie A schedule on August 21 against Bologna.
Pulisic with two assists in 45 minutes in his first pre season action for Milan.
Unrelated but apparently Josh Cohen is out of contract. Maccabi Haifa has been playing their CL qualifiers without him. The only rumors I could find is some links to ATL United as Guzan’s eventual replacement.
Me: I’ve been waiting for an appropriate article to drop some interesting info. It’s on my mind. While I was looking up, Juventus roster, when Weah was 1st linked, on the transfer market on came upon an Obed Vargas article. Obed is the 2nd highest valued midfielder in ‘05 birth year.
Casual fan : O cool, what does this have to with anything?
Me: If you let me finish, I’ll tell why it’s important. 8 players in the Top 50 -highest valued 18 year old midfielders are US eligible. 1. Miguel Perez (Stl City) 2. Obed Vargas (Sounders) 3. Cremaschi (Inter MIA) 4. Nico T (Earthquakes) 14. Noel Buck (Revs)
16. Baker-Whiting (Sounders) 36. Brooklyn Raines 42. Abarca (El Paso Locomotive USL) 4 players in the top 5. 8 in the top 50. 5 out of 8 have dual citizenship. Perez the number 1, Nico Tsakaris at 4, and Baker-Whiting at 16 are all American. We are developing players at a faster rate than any other country in the last 5 years. For context, Denmark (8), England (5), Australia (4), Dutch (4), Portugal (3). America has 3 that aren’t dual citizens, which is the highest percentage on this list.
Casual fans: This rest of the world is improving just like a America.
Me: The rest of the world is good at addition and we are multiplying. Which results are greater 4+4 or 4x 4?
Only need to see youth club tournament results the past 5 years to know USA/ MLS next academies have not only caught up to other countries and youth development but have started to surpass many elite club youth development programs. Only a matter of time before the World realizes this sleeping giant has awakened.
You’re right it is encouraging but it’s also a little inflated because teenagers actually get minutes in MLS. If you look at Transfermkt’s lists if you’ve played first team minutes you basically automatically double your value. I found an article from The Guardian with the top 60 players in the world from 2005 and only Baker-Whiting was on the list from US. The best year I found in their lists was 2002 with Musah, Gio, Gianluca, and Malick Tillman. I will say the lists were from last fall so Miguel Perez was still just playing MLS Next Pro.
“USA/ MLS next academies have not only caught up to other countries and youth development but have started to surpass many elite club youth development programs. Only a matter of time before the World realizes this sleeping giant has awakened.”
I’m pretty sure the “world” is well aware of that and has been for a bit now. It’s one reason you see more of our kids being signed abroad.
But having elite youth players is one thing.
Transitioning them to elite senior players? That’s a whole nother universe.
And after that can you tell me if the level of our American coaching, the guys who put our players in a “position to succeed” , has kept up with the players?
You can have the finest race car in the world but if the driver is some dumkopf it’s kind a waste isn’t it?
Meanwhile up in Turin Juventus’ new sporting director said this when asked about Weston Mckennie and others who are training on their own:
Q: What was going to be his approach with players like Dennis Zakaria, Weston McKennie, Leonardo Bonucci, and Arthur Melo who appear to be ‘outside’ of the project?
“I don’t know where you heard that McKennie is outside of the project. We never said that. At the moment, there are players working separately who are on the market, and there are players who are part of the project.
“We are currently negotiating with a few clubs regarding Zakaria. We are also discussing Arthur with a couple of clubs, and as for Bonucci, we are in talks with other clubs, but we haven’t found anything suitable for him yet.”
So does this mean there just aren’t any offers or he is actually in their plans. Is it me or has Mckennie been on this teams bubble ever since arriving? I remember this same yo-yo game last preseason with him.
Seems like there are always doubts or supposed problems with him from his managers, but when the games start being played, McKennie is usually on the field, regardless of the team he’s on.
I think with Wes at Juventus it’s always been about his salary. Allegri has always played Weston when he’s been healthy. They just paid him a ton for a guy that doesn’t get a lot of goals or assists. So if they can ease finances by selling a $4 million a year role player then they’ll do it. Bonucci would be a much bigger savings at over 10 million a year but Arthur, Zacharia, and Wes are all about the same salary. Not sure what Tim’s salary is but they should have saved a ton trading Cuardado’s wages for Weah’s. I think Wes will probably end up being sold either this window or in January but they don’t seem to be in a hurry.
Being severely cash strapped, they were probably open to the idea of selling if the price was right. His stint at Leeds did them no favors in this regard. Weston seems to be one those athletes who is blessed/cursed with an inherent easy-going nature- whose demeanor, personality and way he moves on the field makes it look like everything he does is easy-going, more casual than it is. The dude is never going to be Mr Intensity in the way he carries himself, and that will rub certain managers the wrong way. But come game-time, he does work, is hard nosed, very effective- quite good.
I think when people rag on his time at Leeds (not saying you did) they need to understand that Leeds had no replacement for Tyler Adams. McKennie was expected to play more of a defensive role which would necessarily cut down his offensive number. Considering he was brought in for offense though I can see why people would not have noticed this. If Adams stays healthy, Mckennie’s numbers are better, Leeds is stil in the Prem and they buy McKennie. This is why the 49ers are trying as hard as they can to keep him. I just read they were offering to redo his contract.
This is a good reminder that football at Weston’s level is big business, first ,last and always.
If Juve had been willing to offload Weston, they would not have done so if
+ They didn’t have suitable replacements lined up.
+ The offers for him, if there were any, were not good enough.
Whatever the pundits, media and fans say, a club like Juve knows that Weston is a commodity with a certain monetary value and, the way things stand right now, it is in Weston’s and Juve’s best interests for Weston to go through preseason and prepare as well as he can for the season.
This give him the best chance to have a good season for either Juve or whoever comes up with the money for him.
That way, everyone is happy. It can sometimes get complicated but in, general, always follow the money.
AC Milan is really going after USMNT players. I love it. They got Pulisic…..and have their sights on Yunus Musah and Folarin Balogun. Lets go!!!!
Reijnders and Loftus-Cheek are CMs primarily so where does Musah play?
Didn’t he break into Valencia’s starting 11 as more of a winger? From what I’ve read it seems Milan plays with five in the midfield 4-2-3-1. If this is the case, I could see Musah as one of the double pivots or out on the wing.
Musah has always been projected as a central midfielder.
But, when Yunus first got to Valencia, he was put on wing because, at the time, he was about 17 and they felt that putting a kid on the wing was a better way to ease him into the first team.
Since then he’s been steadily working his way towards a more central role.
Is he capable of playing a variety of roles? Sure, but we’ll have to wait until they wrap up their shopping and they can see what kind of squad they have. That’s assuming Milan actually sign him.
He backs up Loftus-Cheek an 8 or RM, in 4-2-3-1.
He will get plenty of minutes in that midfield. We have to remember he is still only 20 years old.
Musah has more than a chance to break into the starting 11 for AC Milan…..regardless of Reijnders and Loftus-Cheek. When you look at the market value (in pounds), positions played and age:
Reijnders: 14m /ACM/CM/DM 24yrs
Loftus-Cheek: 25m /CM/ACM/DM 27yrs
Musah: 18m /CM/ACM/RW 20yrs
for starters, Musah has experience in a position in which the others don’t. So, regardless of what team they came from or played for, it will be tough to start at AC Milan regardless but when it comes to Musah, his chances will be entirely up to his ability to push and elevate his game to the “next level” because he is valued neck and neck with those guys.
Beat me to it; I was just looking up the same thing. But apparently AC Milan got Loftus-Cheek for just €17 million and Valencia seem to be holding out for €25 million for Musah.
AC Milan has some guy named Pulisic that figures to take those RW minutes and a guy named Leao at LW. So either someone is moving to the CAM spot or Yunus is going to have to significantly improve his final ball.
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As for the values of transfer fees Yunus can bring more because he is 20. RLC at 27 isn’t likely to be sold for more going forward. Yunus can still gain value as a 20 yr old and be sold at a profit.
Doesn’t AC Milan play a double-pivot 4-2-3-1 and as such would need four 6/8 tweener types? I was curious who they had there besides Tonali (who obviously is gone),and Ishmael Bennacer (who apparently tore his ACL and is out until the end of the year, and his contract ends in June ’24 anyway.) So I did some googling.
The answer seems to be: not much. Milan even lost a temporary loaner from Wolfsburg who is now back in Germany. That left them with just one CM, Rade Kunic..who I’ll admit I’ve never noticed existed before. His listed market value’s the lowest of any of the four AC Milan has either signed or wants to at just €10 million…and at €25 million Musah’s would be by a fair bit the highest. So the transfer market’s perception, anyhow, is that Musah’s the best of the bunch and would be projected to start, ahead of even Loftus-Cheek.
Also, I’m super-curious to see if Balogun-to-AC-Milan happens. I just checked and allegedly they’re doing a deathmatch auction with Inter for him that’s apparently up to €58 million. Woof. Also saw a really good breakdown on Balogun from Tifo IRL and their guys say Balogun’s going to be a future €100 million guy. It looks like the Italians, anyhow, certainly seem to agree.
“Also saw a really good breakdown on Balogun from Tifo IRL and their guys say Balogun’s going to be a future €100 million guy. It looks like the Italians, anyhow, certainly seem to agree.”
If that is true then why would Arsenal let him go? Eddie and Jesus were hardly impressive last season.
I dunno. Judge for yourself. It was definitely a very convincing (and very stat-based) assertion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98JqV1Kd6Ns&t=171s
Musah will get games regardless of whether he starts right away or not. With league, cup and champions league games all a part of AC Milan’s fixture list he won’t be starved of minutes. I happen to think he’s better than Loftus Cheek and hes younger, but we’ll see what happens
Nice. Musah and Pulisic at the same club.