McKennie linked with Aston Villa move as Juve ponder sale
Aston Villa are apparently discussing a deal with Juventus to bring Weston McKennie back to England. The United States men’s national team star previously played for Leeds United during the second half of the 2022/23 season.
The temporary move, however, did not exactly pan out as the Whites fell out of the Premier League.
Although his time in Yorkshire was less than ideal, McKennie has been an important piece of the puzzle back at Juve. The American appeared in 38 of the Italian side’s 43 total matches on the 2023/24 season. Not only did he feature heavily for the Old Lady, but McKennie performed quite well overall. In fact, the midfielder had the same Whoscored rating as star striker Dusan Vlahovic during Serie A play.
With the American in the team, Juve managed to finish third in the final top flight standings and collect the Coppa Italia. It was the prestigious club’s first trophy in three years. Despite the relatively successful season, McKennie’s future at the Italian side is currently under threat.
American star recently rejected Juve’s latest contract offer
The American’s current contract will expire in June of 2025. Recent reports claimed that Juve has offered their midfielder a new deal. However, the club’s brass apparently wanted McKennie to accept a pay cut to remain with the team. These reports went on to state that the player has not signed the offer sheet. As a result of the snag, the midfielder will leave this summer.
According to fresh reports in Italy, Villa exec Monchi was recently seen in Turin to discuss a potential deal involving McKennie. Mochi, the English side’s president of football operations, is fairly familiar with soccer in Italy. The Spaniard previously held a similar position with Italian club Roma between 2017 and 2019. Prior to joining the Serie A side, Monchi helped discover stars such as Sergio Ramos, Jose Antonio Reyes, and Jesús Navas while with Sevilla.
McKennie was apparently not the only player on the agenda. Nevertheless, the American is one of several Juventus players to be sold in the coming months.
Thiago Motta’s pending arrival to the club is supposedly set to kickstart a squad overhaul. McKennie isn’t in the new coach’s plans.
McKennie could join Villa to replace current star midfielder
Villa will be looking to make significant additions to their team following their stellar 2023/24 season. The Birmingham-based club ultimately finished fourth in the Premier League standings, qualifying for the Champions League. It is set to be the first time in 40 years that Villa will take part in the top European competition.
Some Premier League fans may still have gloomy opinions about McKennie from his time with Leeds. However, the American showed this season that he can perform well in a top team. Villa’s current midfield generally consists of John McGinn, Douglas Luiz, and Youri Tielemans. Potentially adding McKennie would give manager Unai Emery another solid option in the middle of the pitch.
The USMNT star may arrive in a bid to detract from the possible loss of Luiz. The dynamic Brazilian has been heavily linked with a move away from Villa in recent months. There is no secret that Arsenal admire the midfielder, but Juventus rate him as well.
Photo credits: IMAGO / IPA Sport : IMAGO / Sportimage