Changing fortunes, frustrated mentors and PSV dominance all play part of this week’s new year USMNT tracker.
We’ll bring you updates on USMNT players plying their trade in leagues across Europe. With this year’s Copa América and a World Cup on the horizon, we keep an eye on its functionality every weekend.
This may be a very attractive year for the most sensible trio in the USMNT Eredivisie.
Advertisement
Malik Tillman, Sergiño Dest and Ricardo Pepi have so far contributed to PSV Eindhoven’s flawless domestic season.
In the Eredivisie, Tillman has five goals and three assists in 12 appearances, full-back Dest is brimming with confidence at full-back and Pepi has four goals and one assist. Beyond that, they all also played a role in PSV’s successful Champions League campaign, with Borussia Dortmund meeting in the round of 16 next month.
Unsurprisingly, PSV coach Peter Bosz is inspired by his American contingent and, with Tillman and Dest on loan from Bayern Munich and Barcelona respectively, told The Athletic last month that his long-term could still involve shining at clubs even bigger than the 24-time world champion. Dutch champions.
But first they need to finish the tantalising success they have helped start at the Philips Stadion this term.
“Justin Kluivert is the best example. He was 17 with me at Ajax and moved too early. Sometimes they must be patient. I had that conversation with (Brentford’s summer target, Johan) Bakayoko. I told him, ‘If you go now, you will be seen as the small Belgian player who came from PSV. If you win titles with us, perform in the Champions League and play for the Belgian national team, then it will be different’.
“There’s also Malik Tillman (21) and Ismael Saibari (22). Noa Lang might be the best. It’s amazing. Unfortunately, he was injured and is only 24 years old. They’ve given him personality, he’s fast, he’s smart dribbling. . Ricardo Pepi is also only 20 years old.
“This year they have the opportunity to show the big clubs that they are already players for them. “
Dest and Tillman scored a goal and an assist respectively in PSV’s last game before the break in Holland, a 4-0 win over AZ Alkmaar, while Pepi recovered by coming on as a substitute in the 69th minute.
From an outsider to a consistent headline, it’s a happy holiday season for Chris Richards.
Advertisement
The 23-year-old centre-back had only made one full Premier League appearance this season for Crystal Palace until the opportunity arose in early December.
Since then, Richards has played in all seven of Crystal Palace’s Premier League games (with a respectable draw against champions Manchester City) and continues to improve.
In Palace’s 2-1 defeat to Chelsea, he delivered functionality forged in the new defensive midfield role to which he has adapted deftly.
Richards made a couple of big interventions, adding that he took the ball away from Chelsea striker Christopher Nkunku as he was about to shoot on goal, and was involved in one of the biggest incidents of the Christmas calendar.
The Alabama home team mistakenly showed a red card (instead of the intended yellow) via referee Michael Salisbury after a second-half challenge on Noni Madueke at Stamford Bridge.
Salisbury realised his mistake and Richards remained on the pitch, which will have come as a relief to manager Roy Hodgson as he was able to retain Richards’ reassuring solidity for his next outing, an impressive 3-1 home win over Brentford while playing again. A vital game: winning 8 duels and two innings, intervening defensively when necessary.
He is barely getting a chance to influence matters on the pitch for Borussia Dortmund lately, but it would seem Giovanni Reyna is still influential off it.
Dortmund’s promising young England striker Jamie Bynoe-Gittens quoted the underused USMNT star when asked who he learns the most from in the team in a recent interview.
“Hmmm, where do I start?” “We have great ability in the educational field. Look at Gio Reyna, for example, an incredibly intelligent player. When you watch him on video, he has to pay attention to what he does before he gets the title. Ball.
It’s been more than 3 years since Reggie Cannon bitterly left FC Dallas as a child to sign for Boavista for the first time in the summer of 2020. Its transatlantic move did not help its chances in the USMNT, as its foreign options fell by nine. in 2021 to six in 2022 (the World Cup squad was missing as Shaq Moore was chosen) before failing to win a single foreign team in 2023. He discovered a way out of a bad situation when alleged unpaid wages took him off his contract. with Boavista, finalizing a flexible move to Queen’s Park Rangers this summer.
Advertising
Although Cannon has now taken on a normal starting role after the club appointed Marti Cifuentes as manager at the end of October, QPR still find themselves in relegation places heading into the new year. Its 43. 1 according to the slope of the field is the fifth lowest. in the league to date, which gave Cannon plenty of practice to take out opposing wingers. The litmus test could help him get back in the pool ahead of this summer’s Copa America.
While many of his opponents for playing time overseas as right-backs are more praised for their paints in the future, Cannon has been a consistent defender on the ball in his first year in the league. As of New Year’s Day, 54 left-backs and right-backs had logged at least 720 minutes in the league. Cannon is among the top 10 sensible for his “true” win rate, touch-adjusted interception frequency and beyond dribbling rate, with his figure 20% below the league average. 27%.
There’s certainly a difference between facing second-tier wingers while betting on a team from the relegation zone and facing high-level foreign players in one of the sport’s most competitive foreign tournaments. Still, Cannon’s defensive work may help him get back into Berhalter’s plans, especially considering Sergino Dest’s tumultuous end until 2023; after being ejected in November’s USMNT loss to Trinidad and Tobago for what his manager called a “stupid mistake. “
Jeff Rueter
Respected Turin-based sports newspaper Tuttosport made the USMNT man their top performer for Juventus so far this season based on player ratings since the beginning of the campaign.
“In the summer it was already on the market, now it is immovable,” they concluded.
McKennie’s father, who uses social media to cheer his son up, reacted on X by saying, “This is what it feels like to believe in yourself. “
Advertising
His manager, Max Allegri, also gave his approval. How did I remodel McKennie?”asked over the weekend. I didn’t remodel it. I only told him in the summer that he had a wonderful chance of staying at Juventus as long as he started competing on July 15 and finished on May 26.
Noël assisted the USMNT captain in Milan’s 3-0 win over Monza on Dec. 17, then created a chance and good luck in field duels in the 2-2 draw against Salernitana in the next match, on Dec. 22, ended well with the only goal in the Rossoneri’s 1-0 win over Sassuolo on Saturday. Pulisic was involved in five goals in all competitions in December (three goals, two assisted), more than any other Serie A Player of the Month.
Milan sit third in the table, nine behind local rivals Inter, and will face French club Rennes in the Europa League play-offs in February.
Wright’s Coventry side are on a six-game unbeaten run in the Championship and the striker has provided goals, against Southampton, Swansea City and away to Middlesbrough on New Year’s Day, plus two assists along the way.
“We came back into the game with a very well scored goal by Haji,” Coventry manager Mark Robins said after the 2-2 draw against Swansea. “It was a smart move, and his touch was smart and he put it on his left foot and I discovered the corner. “
2024 is shaping up in the best way for Josh Sargent. The 23-year-old striker had recovered well enough from the ankle injury that had kept him out of games since August to be on the bench in Norwich’s 1-0 loss to Millwall on Friday. And after scoring three goals in four early-season games for the championship side, Sargent scored the overdue equaliser against Southampton at Carrow Road on New Year’s Day after coming on in the second half.
The USMNT veteran has extended his stay at Premier League side Fulham on a new contract that will keep him at Craven Cottage until the summer of 2025.
The 36-year-old will have been at the London club for a decade. “Staying somewhere as long as I have it takes a lot of work,” he told Fulham on Friday.
“Being able to say you’re making plans to live in a position like this for 10 years is not something that happens these days. “
Pulisic will hope to maintain his red-hot form for AC Milan as they face Cagliari in the Coppa Italia on Tuesday (3pm ET, Paramount +).
Cameron Carter-Vickers’ Celtic will face St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership on Tuesday (12pm to 12pm). m. , ET, CBS Sports Network).
Luca de los Angeles Torre’s Celta Vigo will play in La Liga against Real Betis on Wednesday (1:15 p. m. ET, ESPN).
(Best Images: Getty Images)