Yunus Musah’s name has been in the news quite a bit this season and more often than not, it’s been about his next destination.
Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Inter, among others, have been strongly linked with the Valencia midfielder, who seems destined to leave the Liga club this summer.
Lost among the hype and justified excitement over Musah’s potential is how he is actually playing with Valencia this season. And the answer appears to be: OK, not great!
It’s worth remembering, of course, that Musah is only 20 and in his first season as an every-game starter in La Liga. Interested teams aren’t just after the player he is, but the player he could one day become.
But right now, Musah and his club are going through a rough patch. The midfielder’s up-and-down campaign leads off the Five this week.
Musah takes rare seat on the bench
When Valencia lined up against league-leading Barcelona on Sunday, Musah found himself in a place he’d only started from once this season: the bench.
Musah entered as a second-half sub, but Valencia couldn’t make a man advantage count as it fell 1-0. With the loss, Los Che found themselves in even deeper relegation trouble, sitting two points and two places from safety.
How has Musah done this season? A look at his stats would seem to support the eye test: he’s great at progressing the ball through dribbling, but his passing leaves something to be desired. His total of no goals and two assists (both in the same game) also suggests some final-third improvements would be welcome.
In more eye-test analysis, Valencia fan outlet Deporte Valenciano bemoans Musah’s “constant tactical oversights” and inconsistency (“either he is in a great moment or he is missing”) but ultimately falls on the side of including him in the lineup due to his energy.
That seems to be more or less the story of Musah right now: flawed but useful. At age 20, it’s not the worst place to be. For the purposes of Valencia’s survival, however, it may not be enough.
Reyna watches at Dortmund surges
Borussia Dortmund is mounting a real Bundesliga title charge and lately, Gio Reyna has had a great seat to see it all happen.
Reyna was an unused sub for a third straight league game on Friday as Dortmund beat RB Leipzig 2-1 for its 10th straight win in all competitions.
The problem hasn’t really been one of Reyna’s making. The attackers ahead of him are in outstanding form and Edin Terzic has zero reason to change things up. Reyna has actually made a major impact when called upon, too, scoring goals in three straight appearances off the bench in late January and early February.
But Terzic did concede he may be hesitant to trust Reyna due to his injury history, mentioning the issue in his pre-game press conference ahead of the Leipzig match.
Whatever the reason, it doesn’t seem like Reyna will be getting extended minutes any time soon.
CCV back to the Premier League?
Cameron Carter-Vickers was going to get noticed back in England eventually.
The Celtic defender has been drawing high praise during his time with the club, having made a permanent move ahead of this season after starring on loan from Tottenham last term.
Now, Fabrizio Romano is reporting major interest back in England for Carter-Vickers, who made one appearance for the USMNT at the 2022 World Cup.
Celtic will be loathe to let the 25-year-old go, but it could be set to make a decent profit just one year after paying £6.5 million for the center back.
Scally gets his spot back
Joe Scally was an ever-present for Borussia Mönchengladbach ahead of the World Cup, starting every Bundesliga match for the club prior to the break.
But Scally has hit a bit of a snag in the second half of the campaign, as minor injuries and coaching decisions have seen him start just half of Gladbach’s eight post-World Cup matches.
Scally, though, started over the weekend against Champions League-chasing Freiburg and put in an admirable shift, helping his club earn its first shutout in a month in a 0-0 draw.
After Gladbach shipped 10 goals in its previous three games (only one of which Scally started), it’s likely the right back will retain his place ahead of next week’s daunting trip to face RB Leipzig at Red Bull Arena.
Weah draws praise from Henry
Tim Weah is doing it all for Lille this season, and his performances are drawing praise from a certain legendary figure in French soccer.
Weah started his fourth straight game at left back for Lille on Saturday in a 1-1 draw at Lens, as he continues to fill in admirably for injured starter Ismaily.
The 23-year-old’s adaptivity was hailed by Theirry Henry after the game, with the former Arsenal striker saying on Prime Video: “Tactically, he impresses me.”
When Lille right back Bafodé Diakité went down injured last weekend, the club’s fans were polled on who they wanted to replace him. The choice? Naturally, it was a player who is becoming just as renowned for his versatility as he is for his skill.
