AC Milan have completed the signing of former Arsenal academy midfielder Yunus Musah from Valencia on a long-term deal.

On Friday, AC Milan announced the signing of Yunus Musah on a permanent deal lasting until 2028. The midfielder is set to wear the number 80 with his new club.

Former club Valencia CF confirmed in their statement that the transfer fee was €20m (£17.3m), plus add-ons.

Musah has been pushing for Valencia to sanction his departure for days, after agreeing personal terms with Milan a month ago, but the La Liga club were holding out for that €20m mark.

“I’m over the moon,” Musah said. “Today my mouth’s starting to hurt from all the smiling. I don’t know what to say, I want to thank everyone.

“I’ll need to take time to understand what’s happened, I’m just so happy.”

Musah played for Arsenal as a youth player, but he left for Valencia when he was 16 years old, making his breakthrough into senior football with the Spanish club.

At first, things went very well with Valencia, and Musah even made it into the U.S. national team.

But the last few months were less impressive, and with Valencia playing badly and a strong chance that they won’t significantly improve next season, the club were concerned that Musah’s value would only continue to drop.

Now was the time to cash in, and Milan were happy to pick the 20-year-old up.

Fabrizio Romano had reported in May that Arsenal and Chelsea had both been following Musah since January, with Inter Milan also in the mix.

But there was no suggestion of a formal move from any of the three clubs at the time, and nothing changed on that front.

Back in December, following Musah’s performances at the World Cup, David Ornstein reported for The Athletic that a number of Premier League clubs were exploring the signing.

The player was believed to be keen on a new challenge after spending a few years in Spain.

But it’s AC Milan who are offering him that opportunity now.