Weston McKennie pointed to a host of factors to explain his disappointing loan spell at Leeds last season, including a lack of fitness, playing for three different coaches, and playing out of position.
McKennie joined Leeds in January on a six-month loan from Juventus. He was expected to help solidify the team’s midfield and contribute to securing its Premier League status.
But things went south quickly for the U.S. national team midfielder, who increasingly came in for criticism during a period that eventually saw the club relegated.
Now back at Juventus, McKennie appeared on Tim Ream’s The American Dream podcast and reflected on his time at Leeds. The first issue, per McKennie, was due to coming from Juventus, a club that often plays multiple games per week due to European and cup commitments.
Arriving at Leeds, the midfielder joined a team that was only playing in the Premier League after its FA Cup elimination in February.
“Honestly, I don’t think my physical fitness was the best because I was so used to being at Juventus and playing every three days,” McKennie explained.
“Game fitness is way different than training fitness for me,” he continued. “I become game fit by playing games. I can’t really replicate game fitness at training. You can try, you can do as much as you can to make it feel like a game, but I can’t do that playing one game a week. … I didn’t feel like I was in the best physical shape in terms of being able to last maybe a 90 minute game.”
Another problem according to McKennie was the fact he came to Leeds to play under fellow American Jesse Marsch, who was promptly sacked shortly after his arrival.
Marsch’s replacement Javi Gracia would also be sacked before the end of the season, with Sam Allardyce coaching the final four games of the campaign.
“I didn’t help that when I got there, I went there because of Jesse Marsch. And then two weeks after I got there he was sacked,” McKennie said. “I had four different managers in six months.”
He added: “One of my coaches, honestly I don’t think he even knew who I was. If a player is coming in on loan, you should know your squad. He put me outside the box for corner kicks. And in my head I’m like, ‘I’ve scored like 85% of my goals in my career off set pieces and crosses.'”
Finally, McKennie pointed to a March injury to his USMNT teammate Tyler Adams, which forced him to play deeper than he typically prefers.
“And then Tyler got injured, so it forced me to play the six role. I don’t see myself as a six, because I like to attack and defend and if you’re telling me like, ‘Just stay here, don’t go in the box,’ I’m not the best with that because I need to be free to exert my energy. So I think it just didn’t pan out the way I thought.”
McKennie would add that he didn’t regret the move, calling it a learning experience and complimenting the staff, players and fans at Leeds. The midfielder did admit, though, that the passion of the Leeds fans can cut both ways.
“They’re very vocal, but that can go either way,” he said. “They can be vocal for you or against you. And towards the end, it was very much against me.”
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