It looks like Juventus is ready to push Weston McKennie out the door.
Reports on Thursday said that Juve will effectively wash its hands of several players, and the U.S. men’s national team midfielder is among them.
Per Fabrizio Romano and Goal, the Italian power informed McKennie that he is no longer in their plans, and would be excluded from the club’s U.S. preseason tour.
According to an additional report from Football Italia, Juventus has gone as far as telling McKennie — along with longtime club captain Leonardo Bonucci, and possibly others yet to be named — to train away from the rest of the first team, effectively cutting off all face-to-face contact.
That leaves McKennie in limbo, though he may have already sensed that he’d be playing elsewhere in the 2023-24 season. The USMNT man had already left Juventus once this year, with Leeds bringing him in on a half-season loan back in January amid rumored interest from several Premier League teams.
McKennie’s next move unclear
Leeds reportedly spent €1.2 million on the initial loan, and held a purchase option worth as much as €33 million. However, after crumbling in the back half of the season, it was little surprise that the relegated club didn’t pony up that big fee.
Sadly for McKennie, it appears that Juventus spent the meantime finalizing a future that didn’t include the Texas native.
McKennie’s contract in Turin runs through the end of the 2025 season. That means that even though Juventus is apparently doing the soccer club equivalent of throwing his stuff out the window and telling him to get lost, they will probably be looking for a hefty transfer fee out of any club that shows interest in the all-action 24-year-old.
He may already have some solid options to choose from. Earlier in July, ESPN said that McKennie had held talks with Borussia Dortmund over a return to the Bundesliga, where he spent five years with Schalke. Per USMNT defender Tim Ream, Fulham had interest around the time Leeds signed him, while clubs like Aston Villa and Bournemouth were also said to have wanted to bolster their midfield by adding McKennie.
That potentially awkward move back to the Ruhr Valley may be the most prominent link at the moment, but it stands to reason that McKennie will have numerous offers coming his way in the next couple of weeks.
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