The midfielder has gone from unwanted to undroppable with a series of standout performances for the Serie A title challengers
What a difference a few months makes. Going from social media punching bag to legitimate Serie A star, it’s been a career-altering run for Weston McKennie, whose renaissance at Juventus has been the U.S. men’s national team’s story of the season so far.
There are no more fat jokes now. There’s no more cruelty, no more hate, save for a few bitter fans back in England blinded by their own frustrations. No, McKennie’s rise is undeniable by anybody with a clue. Suddenly, somewhat improbably, McKennie is one of the most important players at one of the world’s biggest clubs.
He’s a key component at Juventus now, a player who has more than earned his place back in Massimiliano Allegri’s good graces. That wasn’t handed to him; he seized it with both hands. But how has McKennie got here? How did he channel all the hate from Leeds into all of this success at Juventus? GOAL takes a look…
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McKennie’s final moments in a Leeds shirt weren’t applauded. Not even close. The midfielder, nearing the end of a six-month loan that all involved were ready to move on from, was instead serenaded by three words by supporters: “You fat b*stard!”
It had become a typical jab from the English fans, who didn’t take too long to sour on McKennie. The fact is, though, that the American never got to do what he was signed to do and never got to play the way he was signed to play.
Leeds’ initial plan was to have McKennie play for Jesse Marsch in a system that saw him placed ahead of Tyler Adams. Marsch was almost immediately fired. Adams was almost immediately injured. That left McKennie miscast as a No.6 by several different managers who were coaching for their jobs each and every week.
In the end, Leeds were relegated. McKennie? Scapegoated. He was an easy one to blame, a player who was heading right on out of the club and not sticking around for the season’s after-effects. The fat jokes continued on social media all summer, even as he left Leeds in the rearview mirror.
McKennie was at a new crossroads. His stock was at an all-time low after the Leeds debacle. And, as he moved back to Juventus, he had some decisions to make.
There were suitors there in the summer. Some in the Premier League, some in the Bundesliga. It was made apparent right from the start that McKennie’s future could lie elsewhere. Juve had just loaned him to Leeds, after all, which is a pretty big glimpse into how the club’s hierarchy rated him.
Excluded from parts of pre-season, the writing seemed to be on the wall. A move never came, though. McKennie, instead, stuck it out.
At first, he was a backup at right wing-back, where he played behind USMNT teammate Tim Weah. “You’re looking at the starting right wing-back and the backup right wing-back right now,” McKennie quipped back in September. As it turns out, though, that wing-back spot was the blessing he needed.
When Weah went down with an injury, McKennie got a bit more time. He thrived in it. He was shifted back to midfield when Paul Pogba and Nicolo Fagioli got suspended and he thrived again. And that leads us to where McKennie is now: undroppable.
When McKennie arrived back at Juventus, Allegri gave him a bit of advice.
“How did I transform McKennie? I didn’t transform him,” the Bianconeri boss explained. “I just told him during the summer that he had a great chance of staying at Juventus as long as he started running on July 15 and stopped on May 26.”
That’s a simplistic look at it, though, even if Allegri is onto something. McKennie’s energy and endeavor has been key to his arrival, with the American adding a whole lot of life to the Juventus midfield so far this Serie A season.
Defensively, McKennie has been superb, ranking in the upper percentiles of Serie A in tackles and clearances. But just calling him a defensive presence is a disservice to a player who has added a whole lot of nuance to his attacking game.