USMNT star eyed by big-spending French giants as AC Milan transfer talks begin to delight American owner

AC Milan are facing interest in one of their two USMNT players after a Ligue 1 side with an American owner opened talks over an ambitious transfer, according to reports in France.

The 26-player USMNT squad for the recent Copa America contained 23 players from European clubs, five of which play in Italy. In fact, two of those are teammates, since winger Christian Pulisic and midfielder Yunus Musah both play for Milan.

They each joined the Serie A side last summer, signing from Chelsea in Pulisic’s case and Valencia in Musah’s.

However, one of those players is now being linked with an early exit from Milan. According to Foot Mercato , Olympique Lyonnais have taken an interest in Musah .

Lyon are owned by American businessman John Textor, who has already sanctioned a high spend this summer. Indeed, Lyon have welcomed players like striker Georges Mikautadze for €18.5m from Metz, defender Moussa Niakhate for €31.9m from Nottingham Forest and full-back Abner Vinicius for €8m from Real Betis.

In addition, they have made loan deals for former Premier League players Said Benrahma (West Ham), Duje Caleta-Car (Southampton) and Orel Mangala (Nottingham Forest) permanent. Ernest Nuamah has also been retained in a similar fashion from Belgian side Molenbeek (who Textor also owns), as has Mama Balde from Troyes.

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In total, it means Lyon have spent more than €100m this summer. The only clubs in the world to have spent more than them this summer so far are Aston Villa and Bayern Munich.

But Lyon, who finished sixth in Ligue 1 last season to qualify for the upcoming Europa League, still have ambitious plans in the transfer market, which remains open for another month .

Lyon open talks for USMNT midfielder

According to Foot Mercato , they have now opened talks with Milan about Musah. Lyon like him because he has good technical ability and can confidently pass into attacking areas.

But while they are confident about what he would add to their team, they still need to convince Milan to sell him – and Musah himself that playing in France would be a good next step for his career.

Milan still have the 21-year-old under contract until 2028. After paying €20m for him last year and giving him 40 appearances since, they will want to make some significant money if they are forced into selling him.

That said, Musah only started 22 games for Milan last season. In Serie A, he started just over one-third of their matches. Therefore, it wouldn’t be fair to call him a regular starter yet.

Also backed by American owners, Milan have a new head coach this season, Paulo Fonseca. Only time will tell how Musah fits into the new manager’s plans and tactics.

If there isn’t much room for him, Lyon could offer a new home. He would be their first ever American player, although – coincidentally – Textor did try to take Pulisic to France last year before Milan bought him.

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