Arsenal face fight with Chelsea to snap up former academy midfielder shining at Valencia

Arsenal and Chelsea are reportedly set to battle it out for the signing of Valencia star Yunus Musah, who was previously on the books of the Gunners.

The London rivals are both expected to be in the market for a central midfielder in the summer, with Mikel Arteta and Graham Potter potentially after long-term replacements for Thomas Partey and N’Golo Kante respectively.

Arsenal did bring in Jorginho from Chelsea in January, but the Italian is not expected to be around for long in north London. As for the Stamford Bridge outfit, they splashed out £106.8million on Enzo Fernandez in the new year but also have doubts over whether Mateo Kovavic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek will be around for next season.

Several midfield names have already been mooted for moves to both clubs, with Brighton’s Moises Caicedo a particular target.

However, it appears that Musah is very much in the running for a switch to the Premier League.

The 20-year-old spent seven years in Arsenal’s academy before joining Valencia in 2019. And it’s in LaLiga where the USA international has made a real name for himself.

He started every game for the USA at the Qatar World Cup, having previously represented England at youth level.

Despite his own levels of performance being high, Valencia are struggling down at the wrong end of the table in Spain.

Musah could be part of Valencia firesale

Further turmoil off the pitch has led to reports that they were likely to offload some of their top talent this summer.

And according to Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal, Chelsea and Inter Milan have emerged as the three clubs most keen on signing Musah, who is currently valued at around £22million.

“I think whatever happens with Valencia I see him leaving in the summer,” the transfer insider told the House of Champions Podcast.

“In the Premier League there is strong interest. During the World Cup, Chelsea were following the player. Arsenal, of course, know the player very well he was there so he is a player they are monitoring.

“Also Inter, they are looking for that kind of player, so Musah is a player they are following. My expectation is for him to leave and from what I understand, Chelsea, Arsenal and Inter are the most interested clubs, but it will take time.”

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