American soccer fans already had a reason to watch Serie A in the shape of Weston McKennie. The US men’s national team player joined Juventus in 2021 and was followed by the likes of Gianluca Busio, Bryan Reynolds, and Sergino Dest. Timothy Weah followed suit last week, making a €12 million transfer to Juve from Lille.
It’s possible Yunus Musah and Christian Pulisic will add to this trend by joining AC Milan during the summer window, with the USMNT pair believed to be on the San Siro club’s radar. The Rossoneri are faced with having to rebuild much of their midfield and attack this summer, and the hope is their two American targets will be part of the solution.
For both players, there’s reason to believe AC Milan would be a good destination. Musah would be wise to leave Valencia this summer such is the perilous financial condition of the Spanish club. The central midfielder has spent the last two seasons fighting against relegation from La Liga. He’s better than a relegation-threatened club, often being cited as one of the most promising USMNT players.
At AC Milan, Musah would face stiff competition from the likes of Ismael Bennacer and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who has only just made the switch to San Siro from Chelsea. Still, his ball-carrying ability would be useful considering Sandro Tonali has only just left the Rossoneri to sign for Newcastle United. Musah could be the replacement for Tonali.
The signing of Musah would also fit AC Milan’s strategy of targeting young players who have come through elite level clubs – see Brahim Diaz, Theo Hernandez and Fikayo Tomori among others. Musah came through the youth system at Arsenal, which have him strong technical qualities as a player.
Pulisic has those qualities too having come through the system at Borussia Dortmund, but the winger has struggled to showcase them in the Premier League of late. Indeed, Pulisic finds himself well down the pecking order at Chelsea, making a transfer away from Stamford Bridge this summer not only likely, but necessary for the US star.
AC Milan favour a quick-transition game and that would suit Pulisic who needs space in front of him to play at his best. However, the 24-year-old would have to operate on the right wing for the Rossoneri due to Rafael Leao already occupying a position on the left. Pulisic, of course, can play on the right, but most managers consider him to be better on the opposite flank.
As reported earlier this week, Pulisic has another option as Lyon have also made an offer for the US international. In Ligue 1, Pulisic would be one of the best players in the division. He would be the main man for Lyon in a way he was never able to be for Chelsea. That in itself should surely be appealing to the 24-year-old after a few wasted years, but reports in the last day are that he has refused the offer.
Perhaps behind his decision is that Lyon will struggle to challenge for a Ligue 1 title as long as Qatar continues to pump millions into Paris Saint-Germain. Not only that, but there will be no European football for the club, having missed out on all three of the continental competitions with a 7th-place finish last campaign.
There would be a clear ceiling on what Pulisic could achieve at Groupama Stadium. At AC Milan, though, there’s scope for the American to become an Italian champion, given that Stefano Pioli’s team won the Scudetto in 2021/22.
It’s true AC Milan have a number of problems to tackle right now. The sale of Tonali to Newcastle United was unpopular with supporters, coming not long after club legend Paulo Maldini was fired as sporting director. On top of this, AC Milan’s owners – RedBird Capital – are facing questions as they continue to cut costs. At the time of writing, there is no front office to speak of in place.
Napoli set the standard at the top of Serie A last season with AC Milan ultimately fortunate to finish in the top four and keep their place in the Champions League. Next season, Juventus, Inter and Roma are all expected to be stronger and that could make AC Milan’s life even more challenging.
Nonetheless, AC Milan are one of the biggest, most historic clubs in Europe and Musah and Pulisic could play an important role in pushing it back to the top. There’s a variance in the success enjoyed by American players in Serie A in recent times, but Musah and Pulisic are well-placed to reach new heights at San Siro.
