AC Milan Confirm Signing Of USMNT Star Yunus Musah In $22m Deal

After weeks of lengthy negotiations, Italian giants AC Milan have at last confirmed the signing of Valencia’s USMNT midfielder Yunus Musah.

Musah had been in Milan’s sights ever since Sandro Tonali was sold to Newcastle. Talks between the two sides were lengthy and protracted, with both sides far apart on a transfer fee. Milan wanted to pay around €20m ($22m) for the 20-year-old, while the Spanish side wanted a figure closer to €30m ($33m).

Eventually, a compromise was reached and Milan seem to have won the tug-of-war over the price. The 19-time Serie A winners are set to hand over their desired figure of €20m ($22m) plus a further million in bonuses. Musah has signed a five-year contract and will reportedly earn around €2m ($2.2m) per-season at San Siro.

The American is Milan’s eighth new signing of the summer, following the arrivals of Marco Sportiello, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Luka Romero, Christian Pulisic, Tijani Reijnders, Noah Okafor and Samuel Chukwueze

The signing of Musah completes a new-look midfield for the Rossoneri, with Loftus-Cheek and Reijnders also signed to play in the middle of the pitch following Tonali’s lucrative move to the PremierPINC -0.8% League.

Musah started his career at Arsenal’s youth academy, before making the switch to Valencia in the summer of 2019. Initially, he was brought into the B system before he made the step up to the first team a year later. He featured 94 times for the Spanish side in La Liga, scoring twice. Musah has opted to wear the No.80 shirt, worn famously by Brazilian legend Ronaldinho

during his two-and-a-half year stint in Italy from 2008-2011.

The arrival of Musah now takes Milan’s summer spending to over €90m ($99m), by far and away the most in Serie A. The pressure is now on coach Stefano Pioli to perform better next season than last season, when Milan’s title retention was dismal. Milan’s title defence was so lacklustre, they were the worst defending champions of the last quarter century in Serie A.

Pioli had the excuse that he had essentially the same group of players to those who won the league a year prior, albeit they were now a year older. Moreover, Paolo Maldini’s summer signings were all a bust: Divock Origi gave little-to-no contribution in 2022/23, while Charles De Ketelaere was the flop of the season in the league, a player completely out of his element.

There can be little complaint from Pioli this summer. Milan needed fresh blood, and new sporting director Geoffrey Moncada and Giorgio Furlani have delivered. It’s likely that with the signing of Musah confirmed, Milan will try to now offload players and recoup some money. Ante Rebic has already departed to Turkish side Besiktas on a free transfer, while De Ketelaere is close to a move to Atalanta on a season-long loan with the option to make the deal permanent next summer for €23m ($25m), plus Milan would receive 10% of any future sale of the Belgian.

Rade Krunic and Junior Messias has also been linked with moves to Turkey, but as of yet no deals have materialised; Divock Origi has been linked to both of last season’s UEFAEFA +0.3% Conference League finalists – West Ham and Fiorentina – over a possible move after scoring just two goals last season.

Whether Milan have adequately replaced Tonali in midfield is yet to be determined, but there can be little debate that Milan’s squad is now stronger than it has been in years. Can they reclaim the

Scudetto they lost a year ago? Only time will tell.