Arsenal could re-sign academy graduate in cut-price deal this summer if relegation fear realised

Arsenal have been linked with a move for Valencia midfielder Yunus Musah this summer - and they could re-sign their former academy graduate in a cut-price deal.

Musah joined the Gunners academy aged nine in 2012, having been born in New York City and spent time living in Italy prior to that point.

He spent seven years in north London before making the decision to join Valencia.

After being initially assigned to the B squad, Musah was promoted to the first team in the summer of 2020 by manager Javi Gracia, and became the youngest non-Spanish player to score for the club when he did so in November of that year.

He has now made over 100 appearances in all competitions for Valencia, with the 20-year-old establishing himself as one of the club's key players.

Musah has also received 25 caps for the United States, and represented them at the World Cup in Qatar.

Speaking after USA's 4-1 friendly win over Jamaica, the then head coach Gregg Berhalter said (quotes via Goal): "I thought he [Musah] did a very good job. He was a connector. Very, very simple but effective game tonight.

"He just made everything look easy, and I think he had a very, very strong performance."

The midfielder has been linked with a potential return to Arsenal this summer - and Mikel Arteta's side may be able to secure his signature for a cheaper fee than first thought.

Arsenal linked with Musah move

Fabrizio Romano claimed in his CaughtOffside column on Monday that both the Gunners and Chelsea are tracking Musah ahead of a potential summer swoop.

However, Arsenal's main priority for central midfield is West Ham star Declan Rice, with the Daily Mail's Sami Mokbel reporting that the club also have interest in Brighton's Moises Caicedo and Southampton's Romeo Lavia.

Musah could be an option if those deals do not come off. However, football.london claim that he has a release clause of £86 million at Valencia.

But the Spanish club, who finished fourth in La Liga and won the Copa del Rey in 2019, are in serious danger of suffering relegation from the top flight of Spain this season.

The club have sold a number of key players for low fees in recent seasons, such as Dani Parejo, Carlos Soler and Maxi Gomez.

They sit above the relegation zone on goal difference, with five games of the season still to play.

Therefore, if the club do drop to the Segunda Division, Arsenal could convince them to sell Musah for a smaller fee if the player demands to play top division football in the 2023/24 season.