Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool target USMNT star

Stuart Telford

• 25 Apr 2023 13:22 BST
• 3 min read

Arsenal want to bring former academy star Yunus Musah back to the Emirates, but they face competition from Premier League rivals Chelsea and Liverpool for his signature.

Born in New York, Musah was capped up to under-18 level with England before switching his international allegiance to the United States in 2020.

At that point he was one season into what has become an impressive three-year stay with Valencia, with Musah's ETV climbing to €25.1 million per FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm - not bad for a player signed on a free!

READ: Yunus Musah's FootballTransfers' profile

Musah has blossomed into one of the USMNT's best players, and was linked with a host of clubs after his performances at the winter World Cup in Qatar.

"Arsenal have been tracking his development ever since he left their academy in 2019," report 90min. "But now sources have confirmed… that both Chelsea and Liverpool have made contact with Musah's representatives to register their interest in a transfer."

Which club need Musah most?

Musah is a box-to-box midfielder who would fit Mikel Arteta's 4-3-3 perfectly. The Gunners would like more strength in depth behind Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey and Martin Odegaard, and Musah's acquisition could give club captain Odegaard license to play further forward.

READ: Five Under-21 players who could replace N’Golo Kante at Chelsea

Liverpool's need for a midfielder is well documented, meanwhile. Jordan Henderson and James Milner are 33 and 37 respectively, Thiago is dogged by injury, and the club have reportedly pulled out of the race to sign Borussia Dortmund's €100m-rated Jude Bellingham.

Whether Chelsea can afford Musah remains to be seen - the Blues will have to offload a number of player next summer to satisfy FFP regulations having spent more than €600m on players over the last two windows.

Musah would be an asset to any. As well as having a British passport and counting as a homegrown player, he has averaged four progressive carries per 90 minutes in La Liga over the last year, putting him in the 98th percentile of midfielders league-wide by that measure.