Yunus Musah’s loan spell at Serie A side Atalanta is set to end this May with the Serie A club reportedly set to pass on keeping him permanently.
Atalanta will not exercise the purchase option on Musah from his parent club AC Milan, Italian outlet Gazzetta Dello Sport reported Thursday. In addition, the Rossoneri are planning to listen to offers for the American midfielder this summer, according to the report.
Musah joined the Bergamo-based club in August from Milan in a season-long loan deal which included a €25 million purchase option. However, the American has struggled to earn consistent playing time this season, leading to Atalanta’s decision to not exercise a purchase.
Musah has made 24 appearances for the club in all competitions, with his only two goals coming on March 1 and 4 respectively. His last start came back on January 28 against Union St. Gilloise in UEFA Champions League play before Atalanta were later dumped out of the competition by Bayern Munich in the Round of 16.
A lack of consistent playing time has led to less U.S. men’s national team involvement for Musah too. Musah’s last USMNT cap came back in March 2025 in a CONCACAF Nations League third-place match loss to Canada.
Musah has made 83 appearances for AC Milan since joining for €20 million from Valencia in August 2023. He’s amassed over 200 club appearances to date between his three stops at senior level.
Seventh-place Atalanta will continue their push for a European qualification spot with six league matches remaining. Up next for Raffaele Palladino’s squad is a Saturday trip to AS Roma before resuming Coppa Italia action against Lazio next week.
Musah is really good at some things: dribbling through pressure, advancing the ball from the back third to the middle third and so on. But he’s pretty terrible at everything that happens in the attaching third and he isn’t really disciplined enough positionally or with the ball to be a true #6. He needs to be paired with a strong #6 and (ideally) either a creative #10 or a couple of creative wingers who operate by cutting inside–somebody he can give the ball to 40 yards from goal without having to pass it more than 10 yards. That makes him a pretty niche player, really, and most managers aren’t going to have a reliable use for him. Except Tottenham, which clearly values his type, based on their current midfield. See how far it’s gotten them!
Our most talented player that probably won’t make the WC roster. Assuming there aren’t major physical or mental problems we don’t know about, then he has plenty of time to get back on track. He needs to find a club/manager that wants him and has a plan for him to contribute. To that end, he would benefit from trying to nail down a position and work to “specialize” there. Like the others said, I don’t think managers know where his best spot is or what to do with him.
I seriously think Coventry City should buy him once they get promoted. The kid has talent just needs the right environment. Still only 23 years old.
4 years ago I said he was gonna become the US version of Pogba and by this year the team would be built around him
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Bac,
Malik is the USMNT’s Pogba.
Yunus is their version of Gio but without injuries as an excuse.
Here’s what I can’t understand. He began starting in La Liga when he was only 19 and was a consistent starter for several years before joining Milan. He was on our last WC team. He is still only 24 years old. Has he gotten worse in the last 2 years?
It became known he was American. Jk well kinda lol
Gary,
” Has he gotten worse in the last 2 years?”
For all intents and purposes, yes he has.
With the clubs he can’t seem to find a manager who believes in him and can’t help him settle down and find his best role. Versatility is great but at some point you have to settle down and define yourself, unless you are Weston, who is a special case.
With the USMNT he shot himself in the foot by opting out. He may have had excellent reasons for taking that time off but he opened the door for guys like Weah, Johnny, Tessman, Morris and Seba. Pochettino might have been able to help him. I don’t know if Cristian makes the team but I imagine Yunus looks at Roldan and the other guys and says to himself ” Hey, I can do that”.
At the very least the World Cup is a great place to put yourself in a shop window.
In terms of talent Yunus has a ton of it and is as good as he ever was but, if no one can figure out how to use your talent then so what?
If you’re lucky you get one or two chances to make himself a home and so far Yunus is wasting his.
My question was somewhat rhetorical, but my suspicion was that he just hasn’t been in the right place. There are many cases of players, in different sports, who are stagnant and then they go to another team and began to flourish. For example, before Haji Wright went to the Championship league, he had kind of drifted around several leagues without doing all that much.
Gary,
“My question was somewhat rhetorical, but my suspicion was that he just hasn’t been in the right place.”
CP found himself the right place in Milan, where there were managers who valued him and had a role for him.
Your example of Haji just highlights the fact that Wright has been able to engineer smart moves for himself to get better, something Yunus is going to have to figure out how to do.
Gary,
” For example, before Haji Wright went to the Championship league, he had kind of drifted around several leagues without doing all that much.”
Actually, that’s not true. Haji was good about improving and not stagnating at any of his stops. It seems like he had a plan. Yunus doesn’t seem like he has a plan.
+ After the LA Galaxy academy, he signed with the New York Cosmos at age 17 in 2015.
+ Schalke 04 (Bundesliga): In 2016, he moved to Germany. Most of his time was with Schalke’s U19 and reserve teams but earned 7 first-team appearances in the Bundesliga during the 2018–19 season, scoring once.
+ VVV-Venlo (Netherlands): Moving to the Eredivisie in 2019 was a setback; he failed to score in 22 league appearances.
+ Sønderjyske (Denmark): He revitalized in Denmark in 2020. He scored 13 goals in 37 games, proving he could be a lead striker in Europe.
+ Antalyaspor (Süper Lig): 2021Wright became one of Turkey’s most dangerous forwards, scoring 31 goals across two seasons. That earned him a spot on the USMNT 2022 World Cup roster, where he scored against the Netherlands.
+ Coventry City(2023) Coventry identified Wright as the ideal replacement for departing star Viktor Gyökeres, now at Arsenal..
He joined for a club-record €9 million (£7.7m) fee. In his first season (2023–24) he was the club’s joint top scorer with 19 goals in all competitions. Somebody there was watching the World Cup.
Gary,
In my opinion combination of things. Went to too big of clubs, but he hasn’t really progressed either. If he’d been making progress from 19 to 23 he’d be starting at Milan or Atalanta. He’s really the same player he was 5 yrs ago. Works hard, over dribbles (often in bad spots on the field) struggles to make the final pass or finish on target. Add in some mental struggle with pressure of not playing and sharpness from limited minutes. He’s not a worse player but his form is probably down and he’s at a club with bigger expectations.
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Haji had double digit goals in Denmark and two straight years in Turkey. Most people just didn’t notice because he was in smaller leagues.