Christian Pulisic has shown himself at Chelsea, and now a young star of the United States national team is about to move on to one of the most successful and ambitious soccer clubs.
European reports on Wednesday connected midfielder Weston McKennie, who bought the exit through Schalke 04 as the German club sought to shore up its weakened finances, with a move towards Italian giant Juventus. If the move happens, I’d put McKennie, who will be 22 on Friday, in the books of the nine-time Serie A protective champions and on the field with Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala.
Despite their national dominance, Juventus are undergoing a makeover in their pursuit of a long-awaited third European title. He recently hired midfielder legend Andrea Pirlo, who ended his MLS career at New York City FC, as head coach and aims to fire some older players with higher salaries. (France’s World Cup winner Blaise Matuidi, 33, has signed with Inter Miami of the MLS in the past. ) McKennie would bring range, versatility and vigor to the Juve midfielder at an affordable price.
Sky Sports and Kicker reported Wednesday that the proposed deal would send McKennie to Juventus for the 2020-21 season on a $ 3. 5 million loan, after which the Italian club will have the opportunity to buy the rights to McKennie. to Schalke for $ 21. 3 million. which is close to the market value of the midfielder.
The one-year loan would give Juventus a chance to make sure McKennie gets on board and can contribute, and in the meantime, it would provide Schalke with much-needed funding for the once-a-normal La Liga player. Champions, has been suffering from debt. and they found themselves without a critical investment after the resignation in June of former president Clemens Toennies. Schalke would have had more than $ 200 million in the red before the coronavirus pandemic, and club officials said they likely won’t qualify for the European festival for the foreseeable future.
Schalke’s fortune in the field was resented once the Bundesliga returned to action in May. He could not win a game after the resumption, with a 0-7-2 and diving to 12th place.
He replaced the equation for McKennie, an ambitious player who left FC Dallas academy in the summer of 2016 to check his luck in one of the world’s most productive leagues. Since then it has established as a key gear in the Schalke and is under contract there until the summer of 2024. In 2019-2020, he made 32 appearances for the club and scored 3 goals. And he’s a regular in the Champions League last season.
However, with the strong Schalke’s momentum, he began looking for other options: England were in the mix, as Southampton and Newcastle United would have made offers. It was also possible to move to Germany, Schalke and McKennie had an explanation as to why to reject Hertha Berlin’s advances. .
Juventus is one step ahead of everyone; It’s a huge challenge, but offers prospective praise for the player and his national team.
“He’s very focused on challenging and raising his point and betting as much as possible,” American coach Gregg Berhalter recently said of McKennie.
Italy has not been a popular destination for American players. National Football Hall of Fame defender Alexi Lalas made waves after the 1994 World Cup by signing with Padova, who was in Serie A at the time. He left Italy in early 1996 to join the New England Revolution. Michael Bradley spent three seasons in Serie A, first with Chievo Verona and then with AS Roma, and played in the Coppa Italia final in 2013. Among the others who have tried in Italy is the defenseman Oguchi Onyewu, a year and part of which at AC Milan was destroyed by injuries, and the New Jersey-born Italian national team giuseppe Rossi, who played for Parma, Fiorentina and Genoa. At the moment, the only eligible U. S. player in Italy is Wisconsin’s Andrija Novakovich, who is a striker in Frosinone’s moment division.