USA's Yunus Musah becomes a potential threat to Real Madrid

Yunus Musah is the flavour of the month in Valencia, making a mark on Javi Gracia's team despite his tender age. The 17-year-old winger recently scored his first goal for Valencia's first team and earned his first senior international call-up for the United States.

The exodus of talent from Valencia in the last transfer window has opened the door for a number of young players to stake a claim. The pick of the bunch is Musah, who stands out not only for his potential but also for a maturity that belies his age.

Musah, born in the United States to Ghanaian parents, is a former Arsenal academy player and has represented England at youth level. He is also eligible for Italy through residency. Yet he has been called up by the USMNT for the November internationals.

In Valencia, he has been one of the silver linings of a cloudy start to the 2020/21 season. He arrived in Valencia 15 months ago, acquired from Arsenal by former sporting director Pablo Longoria. A year on, he is seizing the dream opportunity that he has been presented with.

After his debut and after being moved to the first team, his first goal also arrived. It was a boost not only for the player, but for Valencia supporters too. After a long solo run, he finished coolly to open the scoring last weekend against Getafe.

Accepted in the dressing room

From his first day, Musah has been warmly accepted by the first team at Valencia. With his ability, displayed in matches and in training, his physical attributes and his personality, he has won over the veterans on the team and shown them he is ready to be viewed as an equal.

He also has the complete faith of his coach, who caused quite the surprise when he named him in the starting line-up on the first day of the season. No one was expecting that, but the coach from Pamplona knew exactly what he was doing and has been vindicated.

Maturity beyond his years

Musah has clear goals in his career and the confidence to take the necessary steps towards achieving them. Leaving the prestigious Arsenal academy, where he was highly regarded, may have seemed like a risk, but the youngster saw a golden opportunity at Valencia and in LaLiga Santander and, according to MARCA's sources, he always had a very good feeling about the move going well.

Big game ahead

With a massive match on Sunday, against Real Madrid at Mestalla, Musah is facing his first big game as a Valencia player. These are the encounters you dream of being involved in and, although he is a very grounded individual, Musah has the talent to dream big and know that anything is possible.