That assist was damn nice, too. I wish there was more game tape of him so I could check out how well he controls the game and plays defense because he looked pretty damn fantasic in those highlights
I will be over there in March and am trying to get to their match away to Bochum. I will try to grab some footage but it will be on my phone. I don't want to go overboard on this kid, but I view him as a prototype #8 as he progresses through his career. He will have some success as a #10 at the U19 level, but ultimately, I think he will drop deeper as he makes the step up to the first team. I have seen this kid play at least a dozen games, granted it was against MLS Academy competition, but I can emphatically say, he is one to watch. He is good, not great, going forward and can contribute on the score sheet when needed. However, he has an uncanny ability to grab a game and dictate the flow, which is very rare for a kid of 18 years old. He is fearless in the tackle, great in the air and is a great passer. I guess this is just my long winded way of saying, while we may see a lot of goal scoring highlights from him at the U19 level, ultimately I think he will settle in sitting a bit deeper. It is also quite possible that he ends up being a #6 down the road as well.
He's playing in deeper positions for Schalke. I think he currently plays the 8, but has played the 6 at times. I do agree with your opinion though.
I am not a fan of comparisons - especially for young players just starting their professional career, but it is fun to do at times. For me, the best comparison to a player playing right now would be....Arturo Vidal. As ridiculous as that sounds, McKennie is a bit more of a physical presence, but the amount of running they do, the willingness to do the dirty work mixed in with a few "I didn't know he had that in his locker" instances (passes, dribbles, goals) is very similar to Vidal.
McKennie is exactly what we need in the midfield. He reminds of a younger Jermaine Jones, but perhaps with even more quality
McKennie has more quality at 18 than Jones could ever dream about having. Whether or not he has the long term drive and commitment that Jones has, remains to be seen. All indications are that he is not afraid to compete and has that commitment. The fact that the Schalke staff game him the arm band before even signing his deal speaks volumes about his work ethic and character.
Fine - I may have over embellished a bit. McKennie is no where near Jones's level of running around kicking people.
Yes, the man who has something like 200 BL appearances, 10 BL goals, 27 DFB cup appearances, 27 Uefa Champions League appearances, 68 caps and a world cup wonder strike goal could only dream of having Weston McKinnie's quality. Additionally, you can probably count on your fingers and toes the amount of players that have started in the central midfield for Germany the last 10 years but yea, Jermaine Jones can only dream of having Weston Mckinnie's quality. Seriously, the people who hype every prospect who heads to a big time European academy on these boards are easily the worst posters. What a joke.
I don't know who to compare him to, but he's really good. McKennie is an athletically superior footballer. He's 5'10 and built stocky, but he's very fast and has incredible leaping ability. He's every bit the athlete as a #8 that players like Pogba and Toure are without being as tall as those players. That'll seem crazy, but I think people will agree once they watch him play a number of games. He's so good in midfield duels, rarely loses any, and he's not just a good athlete. McKennie also is good technically. He is very good at playing diagonal balls. He could probably play the #10, and not be out of place. Good goal scorer.
Look - I was asked to give a comparison and I clearly stated that I don't like to give comparisons when talking about an 18 year old kid that hasn't even made a first team appearance. This is half the fun when projecting youth talent. I am not sure if you are wumming or just a Jones fan boy, but I think many who have seen McKennie play would agree that his upside is considerably more than Jermaine Jones. There is a great possibility that McKennie doesn't make it, that is the reality of football in Europe. If he doesn't, it would be a massive disappointment. But for you to get so wound up about someone saying that he has more talent than Jones is a bit much. I haven't hyped this kid up at all - I was simply asked to make a comparison, which obviously you didn't agree with.
oh, you mean the player that is one of the best ever midfielders to ever play for the national team? curious to see how many times you watched jermaine when he was 18 as well.
Well I appreciate you trying to re-frame your post in a disingenuous way but you simply making a player comparison was not what I was responding to. It's ok to make player comparisons but to say, "Mckinnie has more quality than Jones could ever dream of" I'm not a fanboy of anyone, I do have the ability to make reasonable statements on these boards though. Jones has had a long and celebrated career at the highest levels of his profession and McKinnie has never played a competitive match at a higher level than Bundesliga U19? Clearly you're the fanboy here. To say Jones could only ever dream of having McKinnie's quality? That is classic BigSoccer fanboy hype wagon bs.