Weston McKennie has once again gone from outcast to in the mix at Juventus.
Just two weeks after Juve head coach Thiago Motta told McKennie his services were no longer required, the situation has changed for the U.S. men’s national team midfielder.
At a press conference ahead of Juve’s season opener against Como on Monday, Motta declared that he may, in fact, have a use for the midfielder this season after all.
“McKennie is a useful and functional player for our needs,” the coach said on Sunday. “Tomorrow we have 19 players to face the match and I can only put 11 on the pitch and make five substitutions. We are fine, we trained with the right intensity and we are ready.”
Motta’s words were a major departure from earlier this month, when he said that every player left out for a friendly against Brest — including McKennie — was not in his plans.
“We have been very clear with them,” Motta said on August 4. “They are talented, but must find other options where they will get more playing time. For [Federico] Chiesa and the others, the decision has been made.”
But after several media reports last week that McKennie had returned to the fold, Motta has confirmed that the 25-year-old is back in his plans.
McKennie’s contract is currently set to expire at the end of the season, with talks over an extension so far proving unsuccessful.
The USMNT star’s situation is reminiscent to what he faced last summer, when he returned from a loan at Leeds only to find himself an outcast.
“I didn’t have my locker, I didn’t have a room in the hotel, I didn’t have a parking space,” McKennie said in an interview with The Athletic.
“I couldn’t even get my shirt number (14), even though nobody else had taken the number. I was like, ‘OK you guys want to treat me like this? I’m just going to show you on the field.’”
McKennie responded last year by becoming a vital part of the team, starting nearly every game while tallying a career-high 10 assists.
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