Weston McKennie

Pogue Mahone said:


Does this guy deserve his own thread? Read an interesting article about him in the Grauniad a while ago and now he’s scoring spectacular goals against Barcelona.

Is he destined to be one of the best around? Can any other club prise him away from Schalke/Juve?

Discuss.
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His game has improved so much since moving to Juve. I was shocked at how much better he was in the US friendlies against Wales and Panama. His attitude and work rate have always been high level, but now his technical skills seem to be growing leaps and bounds. It probably also helps that he is no longer at Schalke and even more so that he is not being moved around to every role in the pitch.
 
Have never seen him play but has heard good things.
Is it worth trying him for Pogba ? Good enough for us ?
 
Hugely impressed by this guy, they brought him in as Fred type terrier, but he's quickly maturing into complete midfielder. Gonna be the new Vidal supporting PP there, in my opinion.

Have we even scouted McKennie, does anyone now? Why don't we do this sort of deals?
 
It wasn`t easy for him to shine at his former club...
Good scouting by Juve
 
Certainly looks like he'll be worth the 18 million Euro buy option attached to the loan. Exciting times for the USMNT.
 
Ace Krampus said:
Certainly looks like he'll be worth the 18 million Euro buy option attached to the loan. Exciting times for the USMNT.
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Agreed. The energy, and skill, he and Adams bring to the midfield is awesome compared to the Bradley days.
 
I'm surely not the only one who was rather suprised, or in disbelief, when I read Juve had signed him. I would never for a second have considered him starter material for a club of Juventus' ambitions, and given the predominance of quantity over quality already there in their midfield, it seemed like a nonsensical transfer to make.

Now, I'm neither a scout, nor an avid Schalke watcher (it's enough I have to watch them twice a season vs us, really), nor do I have any solid knowledge about whether the loan will become a permanent transfer (I seem to remember reading a clause as easy as Juve qualifying for CL would trigger a sale). Good player, sure, but one great goal against a Barca in shambles isn't enough for me to change my opinion that he's nothing special and won't be good enough for Juve in the long run.
 
Hansi Fick said:
I'm surely not the only one who was rather suprised, or in disbelief, when I read Juve had signed him. I would never for a second have considered him starter material for a club of Juventus' ambitions, and given the predominance of quantity over quality already there in their midfield, it seemed like a nonsensical transfer to make.

Now, I'm neither a scout, nor an avid Schalke watcher (it's enough I have to watch them twice a season vs us, really), nor do I have any solid knowledge about whether the loan will become a permanent transfer (I seem to remember reading a clause as easy as Juve qualifying for CL would trigger a sale). Good player, sure, but one great goal against a Barca in shambles isn't enough for me to change my opinion that he's nothing special and won't be good enough for Juve in the long run.
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Disclosure: I am a USMNT fan an not at all unbiased

I watched a lot of Weston at Schalke and the most frustrating thing was that he never had a defined position. His versatility was a curse in that he was put wherever there was a hole in the team. One game center back, one game right back, the next game as a 6, then an 8...rinse and repeat. His growth just since moving to Juve and knowing that he can focus on one position has been awesome to see. He was easily the US teams best player in the 2 friendlies and his jump in technical ability and tactical awareness was huge compared to just last year. I am not under the delusion that he will be world class or even one of Juve's top players, but he can and I think he will be a starter at a top tier club for the next decade.
 
WI_Red said:
Disclosure: I am a USMNT fan an not at all unbiased

I watched a lot of Weston at Schalke and the most frustrating thing was that he never had a defined position. His versatility was a curse in that he was put wherever there was a hole in the team. One game center back, one game right back, the next game as a 6, then an 8...rinse and repeat. His growth just since moving to Juve and knowing that he can focus on one position has been awesome to see. He was easily the US teams best player in the 2 friendlies and his jump in technical ability and tactical awareness was huge compared to just last year. I am not under the delusion that he will be world class or even one of Juve's top players, but he can and I think he will be a starter at a top tier club for the next decade.
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It is, and has long been, very hard for any player to look good playing for Schalke, as the club has dysfunction seeping into the team from everywhere around, so you're right, and one should not hold anything that happened there against McKennie. And good on him too for getting out of there, and getting this great move no less.
I always considered him a kind of defensive midfield workhorse player at Schalke, but it seems Pirlo is using him now in a more attacking position, or how would you describe the position that McKennie can now focus on, as you say?
(I've watched a few Juventus matches in the beginning of the season, think McKennie started the first league game in DM, but I haven't been able to watch any of the recent matches)
 
Hansi Fick said:
It is, and has long been, very hard for any player to look good playing for Schalke, as the club has dysfunction seeping into the team from everywhere around, so you're right, and one should not hold anything that happened there against McKennie. And good on him too for getting out of there, and getting this great move no less.
I always considered him a kind of defensive midfield workhorse player at Schalke, but it seems Pirlo is using him now in a more attacking position, or how would you describe the position that McKennie can now focus on, as you say?
(I've watched a few Juventus matches in the beginning of the season, think McKennie started the first league game in DM, but I haven't been able to watch any of the recent matches)
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I would agree that he seems to be play further forward for Juve, which is right in line with where he has been playing with the US. Personally I think this is his best position as he has scored a fair number of goals for the US by bursting into the box (like he did against Barca). What I think will set him apart though is that you will see him crashing into the opponents penalty area one minute and 10 seconds later he will be chasing down an opposing winger outside his own box. His motor and work ethic are insane. He will likely never be the creative or orchestrating MF on a top team, but he can be a very good box to box midfielder.
 
WI_Red said:
I would agree that he seems to be play further forward for Juve, which is right in line with where he has been playing with the US. Personally I think this is his best position as he has scored a fair number of goals for the US by bursting into the box (like he did against Barca). What I think will set him apart though is that you will see him crashing into the opponents penalty area one minute and 10 seconds later he will be chasing down an opposing winger outside his own box. His motor and work ethic are insane. He will likely never be the creative or orchestrating MF on a top team, but he can be a very good box to box midfielder.
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That makes sense. I'm trying to keep up with Juve under Pirlo, so I'm looking forward to seeing the kid more.
Off topic, but exciting times for the US national team, aren't they?
With Pulisic and now Reyna as top attacking talents, Tyler Adams and McKennie at top level clubs, Dest getting to choose between Barca and Bayern, now starting at the former, wasn't there the young Weah at PSG? And we have Chris Richards getting minutes too, all over the back four.
And that's just the talents I know from playing in Europe (all at top clubs no less), surely there are some still in US.
Don't think the US team ever had so much potential and quality? And the players so much traction with the top level of European football?
 
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Hansi Fick said:
That makes sense. I'm trying to keep up with Juve under Pirlo, so I'm looking forward to seeing the kid more.
Off topic, but exciting times for the US national team, aren't they?
With Pulisic and now Reyna as top attacking talents, Tyler Adams and McKennie at top level clubs, Dest getting to choose between Barca and Bayern, now starting at the former, wasn't there the young Weah at PSG? And we have Chris Richards getting minutes too, all over the back four.
And that's just the talents I know from playing in Europe, surely there are some still in US.
Don't think the US team ever had so much potential and quality?
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I agree, it is exciting times. The migration of America's top talent to Germany has been a tremendous boon to our national team. 15 years ago Pulisic likely would have gone to college for 4 years and then become a pro at 22 and have lost 6 years of development. The Donovan' (skipping college for Bayer) were very few and far between. We had a completely domestic, very young, team play last night in a friendly and they tore apart El Salvador. This may not sound like much as ES is a poor team, but the national teams of old that were MLS heavy struggled to beat anyone. This bodes well as competent depth has always been an issue.

Super happy for Richards as he was born in the city I called home for 2 decades. How is he progressing at Bayern? Do you see him as a center back or right back?

With the way the team is progressing I am hoping for a deep run (quarter finals??) in '26 when the cup is here in the states.
 
Southampton and ourselves were linked to him before Juve got him. Feels like the sort who'd have done well for us or even Leicester.
 
Hansi Fick said:
That makes sense. I'm trying to keep up with Juve under Pirlo, so I'm looking forward to seeing the kid more.
Off topic, but exciting times for the US national team, aren't they?
With Pulisic and now Reyna as top attacking talents, Tyler Adams and McKennie at top level clubs, Dest getting to choose between Barca and Bayern, now starting at the former, wasn't there the young Weah at PSG? And we have Chris Richards getting minutes too, all over the back four.
And that's just the talents I know from playing in Europe (all at top clubs no less), surely there are some still in US.
Don't think the US team ever had so much potential and quality? And the players so much traction with the top level of European football?
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We still need a striker. Pulisic's injuries are also starting to worry me.
 
WI_Red said:
I agree, it is exciting times. The migration of America's top talent to Germany has been a tremendous boon to our national team. 15 years ago Pulisic likely would have gone to college for 4 years and then become a pro at 22 and have lost 6 years of development. The Donovan' (skipping college for Bayer) were very few and far between. We had a completely domestic, very young, team play last night in a friendly and they tore apart El Salvador. This may not sound like much as ES is a poor team, but the national teams of old that were MLS heavy struggled to beat anyone. This bodes well as competent depth has always been an issue.

Super happy for Richards as he was born in the city I called home for 2 decades. How is he progressing at Bayern? Do you see him as a center back or right back?

With the way the team is progressing I am hoping for a deep run (quarter finals??) in '26 when the cup is here in the states.
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Yup, knew it'd always take having our boys playing in top European leagues to see this type of improvement. Definitely feels like the days of kids getting homesick and settling for a career in the MLS are a thing of the past. Are you sold on Berhalter?
 
Never actually seen him play, but he was fantastic for me in FM last year so he’s clearly destined to be the best midfielder ever.
 
Man of Leisure said:
Yup, knew it'd always take having our boys playing in top European leagues to see this type of improvement. Definitely feels like the days of kids getting homesick and settling for a career in the MLS are a thing of the past. Are you sold on Berhalter?
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I'm not sure yet. He has shown tactical flexibility a humbleness to ditch that RB becomes CM abomination. On the flip side he was an absolute coward in the friendly (friendly!!) against Wales by refusing to play a forward. My biggest fear would be that he would have been an MLS homer and have a distain of dual nationals. Reality seems to have been the opposite, so I will give him props for that. However, if we see Omar or Wondo or show up or Bradley starting in WCQ next year we are going to have problems.
 
Schalke have been a mess the past few seasons.

His talent has always stood out. But he was often a victim of his own versatility.

Pulisic, McKennie, Adams, Dest, Reyna, etc. The Yanks have a strong nucleus of young players to build on.
 
Just scout the FC Dallas Academy matches going forward. The talent that academy is producing is staggering. Damn shame the ownership won't spend on the senior level.
 
I've always thought he could do great in that Vidal role when Vidal was in a midfield with Pirlo and Pogba. It looks like that is the type of player he will turn into. Not nearly at Vidals level, but similar characteristics.
 
He's been good for Juve, not a special talent but a pretty complete player. He'll still have a lot of improving to do if he wants to be a regular starter for a top club though as technically he's not anything special.
 
Juve are signing him permanently -- €18m or so, apparently.

He’s arguably on track to be one of the most complete midfielders the US has ever produced. The strides he’s made in just a half season at Juve are incredible.
 
bpet15 said:
I've always thought he could do great in that Vidal role when Vidal was in a midfield with Pirlo and Pogba. It looks like that is the type of player he will turn into. Not nearly at Vidals level, but similar characteristics.
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I think "poor man's Vidal" is not a bad description for him, and not a slight at all as Vidal was a one man army for us. McKennie has similar energy and makes similar late runs into the box (scored two games in the row like that now). He does not have Vidal's ability on the ball (dribbling, passing, shooting), though. Still needs to improve that a lot and needs more coaching on when to press and when to cover the space. But for someone who arrived from a very dysfunctional environment only 3.5 months ago and with the team not having a pre-season he has been doing well. I hope he will continue to improve at the a similar rate. He is 22, time is on his side.
 
Just saw highlights, but he looked excellent on the weekend versus Bologna and scored his 4th of the season. Pirlo’s tutoring and finally having a single role to focus on have made a massive difference.
 
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