Musah is being wasted at Valencia
A year before the world cup one of our best players inexplicably can't find playing time
Yunus Musah is now engrained in the US Men’s National Team’s “MMA” midfield. He is a critical piece of a 3 man front where he adds the ability to beat a man and progress the ball into the feet of our attackers. This is a skill the US has rarely seen as part of the national team which speaks to how critical it really is to our success. While Musah has impressed all of us in his time in a US jersey he’s continued to get minimal playing time with his club team Valencia in La Liga.
A few days ago we discussed the Pulisic situation at Chelsea where despite getting playing time he is being utilized out of position. While I think Pulisic should stay at Chelsea until the end of this season the situation for Musah I fear is much worse - at least when looked at from the perspective of a USMNT fan and he should look for a loan this month.
The obvious counterpoint to all of is this basically amounts to “why should we care about his club situation if he is performing for the USMNT?” to which I would respond: “Imagine how much better he could be with consistent playing time in his preferred position?”
Musah’s first problem which doesn’t look to be going away anytime soon is that he can’t win playing time as a starter or as a substitute from the other central midfielders. Objectively, the Dane Daniel Wass is the only midfielder that is levels about Yunus Musah - but when Musah does see the field he’s deployed on the right wing. Musah has started two games in the Copa Del Rey and scored in both and adding an assist, but those performances shockingly haven’t won him any favor with the coaching staff.
Because of Valencia and their coach’s insistence on keeping Musah off the field we now have to solve two problems at once in the coming transfer window.
The first is playing time and the second his ensuring he plays centrally. Musah needs a loan - he is 19 years old and anyone that has watched him with the national team knows that he has the quality to compete against midfields that included Ajax’s Edson Alvarez and Atletico’s Hector Herrera. In the USA vs Mexico World Cup Qualifying game Adams, McKennie, and Musah completely dominated the midfield trio of Mexico. The consistency with which Musah has provided this stability to the US tells me he’s ready for playing time in a top 5 league.
My preference for Musah as a USMNT fan and a fan of him as a player is to go on loan to a team that needs central midfielders. I actually think linking up with Matthew Hoppe at Mallorca would make perfect sense on three fronts.
Mallorca currently have four injuries to their central midfield and are desperately fighting to stay above the relegation line so they need reinforcements in the coming transfer window. The ownership group for Mallorca includes Americans like Taylor Twellman so Musah should be on the radar if available for a loan. Mallorca and Valencia are trending in two different directions and won’t necessarily be trying for the same spots in La Liga.
For Yunus Musah this means he could stay in the same league where he is comfortable and speaks the language fluently. He wouldn’t need to move to a different country or go through different covid protocols before winning playing time from a thin midfield.
For Matthew Hoppe who seems to have had a rough time integrating into the team, the language, and the culture means he would have another American on the roster to help him along. I think we all saw the potential of Hoppe in the Gold Cup and in his performances against teams like Real Madrid, but his inability to find his way in the culture has stunted his development. Yunus Musah joining on loan means another player to confide in and bring Hoppe along.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Yunus Musah will end his career as one of the best players USMNT fans have ever seen. What I see from him is genuinely special talent that needs to cultivated as soon as possible.