How teenager Yunus Musah became the blueprint for Valencia's future

Yunus Musah has already had to make a number of bold decisions that have shaped his young career.

Leaving Arsenal to join Valencia at the age of 16 was one, opting to represent the USA after playing his youth football with England another, and those choices appear to have paid dividends with the teenage midfielder becoming an integral part of both set-ups.

At Valencia, they see the 19-year-old as a perfect example of what the La Liga club are trying to achieve when recruiting young players for their esteemed academy.

Musah played with the likes of Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe and Folarin Balogun during his seven years in north London — while aspiring to one day be a Mesut Ozil or Olivier Giroud on his trips to the Emirates — but was convinced by Valencia that his future lay in Spain.

«It wasn't hard to come into a new culture,» says Musah, who was born in New York City to Ghanaian parents and lived in Italy until the age of nine, when he moved to London.

«The thing that really attracted me was the history behind the club, knowing so many players from the academy have been given an opportunity to flourish in the first team. It made me want to pursue my dreams here.

»Living in Spain has been great. I have met a lot of people and have learned the language — it is another experience I have added to my life and the best part is I am doing it while doing what I love, which is playing football."

Musah is set to play his 20th La Liga game of the season when Valencia host Barcelona on Sunday and his 60th in all competitions since breaking into the first team aged 17 last term.

«At this age, playing for the first team and having the trust from the club to play week in, week out is amazing,» adds Musah, who has also now won 13 caps for