Weston McKennie is undoubtedly one of the original European talents for the USMNT. Coming up around the same time as Christian Pulisic in the German Bundesliga - Pulisic with Dortmund and McKennie with Schalke, McKennie made a name for himself as an all-around destroyer who excelled in his positional flexibility.
Weston McKennie's standout qualities on the pitch are his defensive prowess and tireless work rate, as well as his ability to win back possession. In addition, his passing ability allows him to control the game's tempo and advance the ball from deep in midfield. His ball-winning skills, paired with his tactical awareness, eye for goal from midfield, and late runs into the box make him a valuable asset for any team.
At Schalke, Weston McKennie played 6 different field positions and finished his time mostly filling in at center back. Fans hoped his next club would be able to train him in ways to become an elite midfielder, and there were extremely high hopes when it was announced McKennie would be joining famed Italian giants Juventus in 2020. The move was structured as an initial year-long loan for a fee of €4.5 million, with an option to make the loan permanent at the end of the season.
Juventus as a club has a history of developing the world’s greatest midfielders, and McKennie was even being coached by the one and only Pirlo. His years at Juventus have been relatively successful and have included incredible moments of beauty. My particular favorite is his scissor kick goal against Barcelona in the same season he became the first American to start in the Champions League for an Italian club. On March 3, 2021, Juventus exercised their purchase option for €18.5 million, plus €6.5 million in potential bonuses, on a four-year contract.
Although the 2021/22 season was a successful one for McKennie, there have been rumors for a while that a potential move to the Premier League is around the corner but an injury to his metatarsal ended his season early.
Now, halfway through the 2022/23 season McKennie has continued to play an important-but-not-indispensable role in Juve’s plans. After 66 appearances and 9 goals it seems likely this will finally be the transfer window that McKennie heads to greener pastures of the Premier League, but it still seems up in the air if a team like Bournemouth will win his signature for £40,000,000 or if a European-bound club like Spurs will swoop in.
Let’s discuss McKennie’s options and where I think he would fit best.
Realistic & rumored transfers
Bournemouth
According to reports, Bournemouth have made an approach for Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie, with the Italian club reportedly willing to sell the American international in the January transfer window. Bournemouth has taken the "most concrete steps" in securing a deal, reportedly preparing a first official offer in the coming days. Juventus values McKennie at around £31-35 million ($37-43 million). As Bournemouth battles to avoid relegation in the Premier League, they hope to add McKennie to their ranks, but McKennie himself seems to not want a move to a relegation-candidate club.
Things are changing at Bournemouth however, with new ownership taking over and bringing a renewed sense of urgency in transfer plans. Currently 15th in the table (and falling fast) it will be difficult to win a transfer race for a player that is used to European nights.
So far this season Bournemouth have tried every formation under the sun. From a recent escapade into the 4-4-2, a 5-3-2, and 4-2-3-1 are not uncommon. McKennie would likely fill the role of Lewis Cook. Weston McKennie would be a huge upgrade from Cook who ranks bottom tier in almost every midfielder category in the Premier League. The other interesting position for McKennie could be in the place of Phillip Billing, who takes on a hybrid center mid/forward role. McKennie played a similar role for the USMNT at the World Cup where he would sit as an 8 while out of possession and spring to wide areas to provide width while in possession.
If McKennie wants “the bag” as the kids call it these days, Bournemouth is likely to be the best offer he gets this window. Tactically he can provide a lot of value to Bournemouth and become a central figure of their rebuild with a new ownership group. It’s a high-risk, high-reward transfer for McKennie that can go very wrong or very right.
Spurs
Since his arrival at Tottenham, manager Antonio Conte has emphasized the need for a deep squad with 16-18 players of similar quality. He quickly identified a drop-off in quality from the team's main group of 12-13 players to those who could be called upon as replacements.
In response, Spurs were active in the 2022 summer transfer window, with Chairman Daniel Levy providing Conte with six new signings at a cost of over €100m. These additions include Ivan Perišić, Fraser Forster, Yves Bissouma, Richarlison, Clement Lenglet, and Djed Spence. Conte has focused on acquiring players with aggression, desire, proven quality, and a winning mentality that fit into his tactics.
From that perspective alone, it’s easy to see why McKennie would be wanted by the Italian boss. The American is a tactically flexible, aggressive player that is a proven winner can jump right into the Spurs lineup.
Conte is known for his reliance on the 3-4-2-1 formation, which involves starting play deep within Tottenham's territory and using superior numbers to overpower the opponent. This often involves stacking one side of the pitch with three to four players to create space and passing lanes that can be exploited by the attacking trio, with Kane frequently dropping deep to collect the ball and play in between the lines.
Looking across the depth chart for Spurs, unless something drastically changes in the coming weeks, McKennie would likely be a spot-starter behind Pierre-Emile Højbjerg and Yves Bissouma. Spurs typically only play with two true midfielders as their wide players are historically wingbacks or defensive wingers.
I don’t think it’s the perfect fit, but McKennie will have to decide how hard he’s willing to work under the pressure cooker of Conte and Tottenham’s ambitions.
Unlikely but interesting transfers
Brighton
The upcoming transfer window will likely see Brighton & Hove Albion lose a key midfielder in their current campaign and a need to replace the smart, hard-working force of Alexis Mac Allister. Adam Lallana isn’t getting any younger and Billy Gilmour hasn’t looked like the same player since Graham Potter departed. With the injection of cash they are likely to get in selling the Argentinian World Cup winner, it could make sense to spend some of that on Weston McKennie as a replacement.
While there haven’t been any rumors of McKennie to Brighton, you have to think a manager that loves to play a 4-2-3-1 double pivot matched with a club that has European ambitions could be a good landing place for McKennie to make a home. It has the best of both worlds between the currently rumored clubs of Tottenham and Bournemouth in that McKennie will fit seamlessly into the current tactical setup of Brighton, and the club can offer the desire of European competition.
Best fit transfers
Dortmund
According to Sportmediaset, via TuttoJuve, Weston McKennie has given his preference to Borussia Dortmund and is waiting for a call from the Bundesliga club. This move would be a sort of homecoming for the USMNT star, who began his career at Otterbach as a young child and spent three years at Schalke from 2017-2020 before being scouted by former Juventus director Fabio Paratici.
Dortmund currently sit 6th in the German Bundesliga - a far cry from their usual close trail of league dominators Bayern.
There are a lot of things that make sense for the marriage of McKennie and Dortmund. The first being that McKennie can thrive in a league that tends to be more about moments of transition instead of smooth technical ability. He’s already shown to be an effective member of a Bundesliga club when he was still developing into the player he is today.
The second piece that makes this is a great fit in my opinion is the way Dortmund manager Edin Terzić likes to set up tactically. Under Terzić, Dortmund prefer to play a 4-2-3-1 double pivot with English wonderkid Jude Bellingham pairing with Emre Can. Julian Brandt heads up the midfield trio as the 10. With McKennie’s current skill set, he can slot into any of the midfield roles that Dortmund enjoy playing with, and he would be a sizeable upgrade from Emre Can.
McKennie has already acclimated to life in Germany, knows the language, and could be the perfect answer to turn Dortmund’s disappointing season around.
Fulham
I bet when you read Fulham you said to yourself “hell yeah! Keep bringing Americans to Fulhamerica!” And to be honest that is one aspect of it, but I think each party in this transaction has a hell of a lot of value to give to the other.
McKennie is looking for a Premier League move to a club not battling relegation. Fulham have just finished an extended construction of Craven Cottage and have ambition to work their way back into the English Premier League top-tier. For McKennie he would get to live in London while playing with two other American internationals - captain Tim Ream and Jedi Robinson. Fulham currently sit in 7th place, only 2 points behind Spurs for the European spot.
Tactically again I am picking a manager and squad that prefers a holding 4-2-3-1 with a double pivot. Only in the Fulham system, McKennie will be on a club that prefers to counterattack instead of possess. Many of their goals come from counters or by getting the ball wide to their full backs who swing in crosses to the head of Aleksandar Mitrovic. McKennie could take the place of current central midfielder Harrison Reed immediately, and provide cover to João Palhinha as the other pivot.
I just want you to picture for a moment: Weston McKennie in a Fulham kit picks up the ball in the midfield, sprays a through ball out wide to Jedi on the left, and makes a second-man run into the box behind Mitrovic. There are goals just waiting to happen.
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Best analysis I've seen
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That's excellent analysis. One thing about Dortmund, though, is that Bellingham won't be there. Depending on who replaces him would impact their need for McKennie.