MilanVibes: How Musah convinced Amorim after West Ham’s serious enquiry

Yunus Musah has been one of the surprises of the season for AC Milan, yet he could have been a summer departure.

According to MilanVibes, there was a point early in the preseason campaign when the exit of Musah seemed far more likely than unlikely. He returned after an unsuccessful loan at Atalanta, appearing destined to pack his bags again.

West Ham and Trabzonspor both asked for information in detail regarding the midfielder, until the new coach Ruben Amorim decided to evaluate him. After some time on the training group, he preferred Musah over Youssouf Fofana and then Samuele Ricci.

How Musah convinced Amorim

What changed? The report adds that the American’s high-intensity training and dedication convinced Amorim to put faith in him. This trust was undoubtedly reciprocated: the former Valencia player truly appears to be the only irreplaceable player in the Rossoneri midfield.

Among the factors that have favoured Musah’s resurgence at Milan is undoubtedly the style of football the Portuguese coach liked, with fierce pressing and lightning-fast transitions even from the double pivot.

Evidence of this is the USA international’s appearance record: in five league games, Amorim has started him four times. The other game was against Lazio when he came on for Luka Modric at half-time and made a big difference, a sentence that seemed unthinkable before.

He put in a magnificent performance, completing 91% of his passes (29 out of 31) and winning four duels. Amorim’s comments following the match at the Olimpico were emblematic: “Luka can play if we play a certain style of game, if we control the match. If it starts to become a purely running game, he’s not suited to him. Musah came in in his place, and he has a different pace.”

It’s obvious that Musah still has ample room for improvement: his ball handling, playmaking, and incisiveness in the final 20 metres are certainly areas he can take a step forward. However, he is 24, has 47 caps for the US national team and has perhaps finally found the right coach.