Ghana's hopes over as Yunus Musah confirms international future with USA

Valencia youngster Yunus Musah has decided to represent the USA at international level, ending months of uncertainty about his future.

The 18-year-old announced his ultimate decision via a social media post on Monday, turning down opportunities with England, Italy and Ghana.

In his first year of senior football, the attacker first caught global attention when he made his debut in the Spanish elite division against Levante last September, aged 17 years and eight months.

Of Ghanaian parentage, Musah was born in the United States but soon moved to Italy where he began his football career.

He moved to England to join Arsenal's academy set-up in 2012, aged nine.

His parentage, place of birth and residency make him eligible to represent any of the four nations at international level.

Interestingly, he played for England at U15, 16, 17 and 18 level.

After his big breakthrough last year, he accepted call-ups from the USA for international friendly fixtures against Wales and Panama in October, making his debut against the former.

Owing to the status of the matches as friendlies, appearances in those games did not permanently tie him to the USA.

“I think it was pretty clear for me to decide to play for the United States,” Musah said, as reported by the US soccer federation official website on Monday.

“First of all, I think it makes sense to represent the country I was born in. The moment I decided to play for the United States came one day when my heart told me that this was the best place for me.

"The project that we have now and for the future is so exciting, and it’s a great pleasure to be able to be a part of that. I can’t wait to get started.

"The U.S. supporters have been really warm and made me feel wanted and appreciated. It’s exciting with such a young squad.

"It’s nice to compete against so many great players for spots. It’s exciting to see what we can do together. I’m sure we’re going to be able to do great things.”

Musah is the latest to snub an international future with Ghana, following Stade Rennais youngster Jeremy Doku, who pledged his international future to Belgium last year.