Ahmed Musa has told the BBC that he would be keen on a return to the Premier League amid links with Newcastle, Crystal Palace and West Ham United.
It is not every day that a footballer is willing to give up a £31 million contract, but that is exactly what this 95-time Nigeria international did a few weeks ago.
Speaking to ESPN, Musa confirmed that he had agreed a termination of his money-spinning deal at Saudi outfit Al-Nassr.
Why? It’s quite simple really – he does not want to while away his peak years outside of the European game.
TEAMtalk, meanwhile, suggest that Newcastle, Palace, West Ham, Burnley and Sheffield United have all been offered the chance to sign a man who shot to fame at the 2014 World Cup and won three Russian league titles at CSKA Moscow.
And Musa, who scored just twice in 21 games after an ill-fated £16 million move to Leicester City in 2016, is desperate to prove that he has what it takes to be a success in England’s top flight.
“For some reasons things didn’t actually work out there [at Leicester], but you can’t focus too much on the past. I’d rather try to write a better story if another opportunity to play in the Premier League presents itself,” Musa explains.
“I want to play at the highest level at this stage of my professional career. I said when I left Saudi Arabia that my utmost desire is to challenge myself competitively at the top level both at club and national team level.”
A Sheffield United side with just one point and four goals after nine games may be tempted to make Musa’s dream a reality; especially with the jet-heeled winger available on a free transfer.
But Musa will not be joining United’s Steel City rivals, playing down speculation linking him with a move to Tony Pulis’s Sheffield Wednesday.
“I don’t know where the story coming from because I don’t pay attention to rumours and gossip,” Musa adds.
“With due respect to (Wednesday), I left Saudi Arabia to continue my career at the top level in Europe and that’s the ambition.”
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