Part of the club's daily Welsh lessons: 🏴 Unol Daleithiau🇺🇸 United States🇩🇪 Vereinigte Staaten246. @WMckennie is the star of the 'Unol Daleithiau'. ✨📸 @USMNT#DailyWelsh #SchalkeUS🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/bPrXOqjpDq— Schalke 04 USA🇺🇸 (@s04_us) October 12, 2019
Germany's paying attention https://www.kicker.de/760067/artikel/schalkes_mckennie_gelingt_rekord_dreierpack
Weston McKennie's hat trick by the 13th minute is the earliest in #USMNT history. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸(Unless Archie Stark's 1925 hat trick was earlier.)— Paul Carr (@PaulCarr) October 11, 2019
Kind of interesting that the narrative on Weston changed so quickly after his best half as a USMNT player. According to this piece: https://mlsmultiplex.com/2019/10/13/usmnt-weston-mckennie-conundrum/ Weston is officially a midfielder that can score goals. I have watched almost every Schalke Bundisgliga game he has ever played and that is not generally how he performs. That being said, while he sometimes plays up top in the high-press (see his last game against Leipzig) he is normally shaded further back on D... of course, the kid runs for days... so you see him up and down the pitch. I want to see more of Weston along the front line for Schalke to see whether he actually has the chops to turn into a real goal scoring threat. It is crazy that he is only 21.... There was even a Bundisliga article a couple of months back that suggested that he may be headed towards being a captain: https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bunde...he-perfect-captain-for-schalke-usa-usmnt-6368
Personally, I think if it was most any other player besides McKennie he'd be gone after this year. However, I think if Schalke continues to impress and gets a Champions League spot I think he's 100 percent going to stay and be apart of that. But, yeah if he stays healthy I don't see how they are going to be able to keep him. He's just a valuable all around player for any team to have. Great as a substitute, versatile, and someone that really doesn't need to appear gametime to be game ready.
I hope he stays at Schalke for at least another year... especially if they qualify to play in Europe next season. The fact that he could actually be considered captain material at 22 or 23 is flattering and something he should strive for.
I like Wes but you are overrating him if you think he's performed so well as to deserve a move to a club at a higher level than Schalke. Schalke is one of the better clubs in Germany, traditionally in the hunt for Champions League spots. Wes has established himself as one of their more useful players, but he hasn't stood out as above and beyond the Schalke level. While he is a top soccer athlete, his technical skills are average at best.
I think this is a fair assessment... but with the caveat that he just turned 21. I think he has the potential to be the kind of player that warrants a move to a bigger league/club... but I don't think he is there yet and I don't think there should be any rush. We don't need him moving to a top 6 EPL team and sitting on the bench.
Bit of a strawman. I never said that he would necessarily move to a higher level team than Schalke. There is plenty of EPL money where he could be bought next season. For Schalke if they don't have champions league football and someone comes in with a 25-30 million Euro bid for him? They take it. Wes takes it. Even if's not to go to a champions league team. Personally I want him to stay at Schalke forever really. But the potential and the age make him an attractive buy for EPL teams. Everton? Yeah they spent over 25 million on four players this past year. They are in the relegation zone.
Ummm, Schalke is a big club for starters. I know I am being a bit pendantic, but Schalke is a big club. As far as the money goes, I suppose the EPL does pay more, but there is something to be said for being happy where you are. Schalke has been horrendous with their transfer dealings and getting value for their players. I think it is going to take more than a hat trick against a pub league level team to garner serious interest from big money folks. To date he is a utility player that covers lots of ground.
It seems that Liverpool in January were checking in on McKinnie this year. Rumor is they actually offered 20 million. He does a lot of things well but nothing spectacular. He is a very good player in that he wont hurt you. Will he do big things to win the game ? No but he does the little things well that are necessary to win games.
Nah, you said he was likely to leave Schalke because he’d bring value to any club. I disagree. There are many clubs where he wouldn’t even make the bench.
I guess this depends on one's definition of "many." I don't think it's all that long of a list, especially given that he's one of the most versatile players at this level I'm aware of.
Again... I don't necessarily agree with that statement. Did you watch the RB Leipzig game a couple of weeks ago? That team came into the game in superior form and Schalke blitzed them. Weston harried in the high-press all game long... creating turnovers in the final 3rd... one of which resulted in a goal. But I think the thing that needs to be considered the most is his age... he is already one of the best players on that Schalke side and he just turned 21. I don't think he will ever be a guy who dribbles for penetration like CP does so well.... but I think he can become a better player offensively as he matures. <crossing-fingers>
I don't understand why everyone has this impulse to have our players in the EPL or always chasing a bigger club. Right now, if I had to pick one club for Weston to be at for the rest of his career, I don't know that you could do better than Schalke. It's a top league, if not the top. It's a team that can and will play in the Champions League and can pay him, but it's not a team that can afford so many good players that they can stockpile talent at his position. He can become beloved, play at a high level, get paid. I don't think he's ever going to be the level of player that starts at a truly big club, so what's the upside in moving? Do we think Gareth Bale is a better player or happier for riding the pine at Real Madrid? Wouldn't he be better and happier, if poorer, if he were still back with Tottenham?
Bale scored a phenomenal winner in a Champions League final and has won 6 major trophies in Madrid, including 4 Champions Leagues. I think he would feel extremely unfulfilled and would often wonder "what if?" had he remained with Tottenham. That's why players always look for bigger moves, money aside. There's an inherent desire to see how good you can be, and that potential probably isn't going to be reached at a club like Schalke or Tottenham. Schalke has won 3 trophies this century and hasn't won the German title in 61 years. It wasn't even a league then. If McKennie wants glory in the sport, he's almost certainly going to have to move at some point.
This is where soccer gets difficult to analyze a specific player and whether or not he is ready for a “bigger” club. There is a good argument that if surrounded by better talent he wouldn’t be running around putting out fires and player the utility man in each subsequent lineup. It is subjective to say whether the would excel or stay at his current level until/if it happens