U.S.-Eligible Yunus Musah Signs Valencia Extension Through 2026

There's plenty of intrigue surrounding the international future of Yunus Musah and what it means for the next couple of World Cup cycles, but his club future for that time has been sorted.

Musah, the 18-year-old midfielder eligible to play for the USA, England, Ghana and Italy, signed an extension through 2026 with Valencia on Friday after his emergence with the first team this season.

Musah, born in New York but raised in Italy and England, took part in his first U.S. men's national team camp last month, starting and impressing in friendlies vs. Wales and Panama. He's the second young U.S. star to sign a long-term extension with his club recently, after Gio Reyna signed one with Borussia Dortmund through 2025.

Musah has one highlight-reel goal in 10 appearances (nine starts) in his first season with Valencia's first team. Before landing at the Spanish club, he came through Arsenal's academy, and it was during his time in England that he appeared for the Three Lions' youth teams, even captaining the U-18 side. England manager Gareth Southgate recently said that he still has Musah on his long-term radar and hopes he elects to play for the country.

“It sounds as though he’s going to meet with America this time and experience that. That doesn’t rule him out of being with us moving forward," Southgate said last month. "So, we’ve just got to make sure that the boy and the family know that we think he’s a good player, that he’s on a good trajectory.

“We’re monitoring him. He’s been with us in the last couple of months and we’d very much like his future to be with us.”

U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter had a strong assessment of Musah's debut vs. Wales, in which he complemented Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams in the U.S. midfield.

"He showed real moments of quality on the ball, real composure for a 17-year-old (Musah recently turned 18), getting the ball on a bouncy field a little bit," Berhalter said. "Under pressure he's able to deal with it and move out of it. I think he was maybe lacking a little bit of the final movement, final ball, that we know he can do. But overall [he] worked really hard and hung in there."