McKennie proves his worth to Juventus after two freeze-outs
Weston McKennie's third goal for Juventus in eight Champions League outings once again highlighted his importance to Thiago Motta's side, but winning over his new coach was no easy task, especially since he had been on the verge of leaving the club twice.
The USMNT international opened the scoring in the first leg of the knockout phase play-off against PSV Eindhoven, increasing his seasonal scoring tally to five goals in 28 appearances across all competitions.
However, his status at the Allianz Stadium has been questioned more than once. While Juventus initially made a €20m investment to sign the midfielder from Schalke 04 in 2020, his stint in Turin seemed near its end in the summer of 2023, when the Bianconeri excluded him from their pre-season camp in the USA and attempted to sell him after a six-month loan at Leeds United.
McKennie was reintegrated into the squad for the following campaign, going on to play as many as 34 Serie A games in Massimiliano Allegri's final season at the helm.
Something similar occurred last summer, as the 26-year-old was frozen out of the Juventus squad shortly after Thiago Motta's arrival, following stalled contract extension talks that had been ongoing for several months.
But with the midfielder rejecting inclusion in any swap deal and showing a willingness to stay, the Bianconeri eventually decided to reopen negotiations for a new deal, with the Italo-Brazilian coach also open to including him in his technical project.
McKennie has started all of Juventus' last nine matches in Serie A, playing the full 90 minutes on seven occasions.
Thiago Motta now seems to have realised that his ability to cover multiple positions, from midfielder to full-back, combined with consistency in his displays, makes the American a jack-of-all-trades as well as an irreplaceable option in the Bianconeri squad.
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