when you are at Juve, that is not an issue. Soccer isn't all that marketable in the USA, period, but is in Europe. And Juve is HUGE in Europe. You see lots of striped shirts in every Euro country.
That's such an interesting and unique analysis. Don't think I've ever heard that before. And also hilarious "maybe they have one more dominant eye or something"... Nice to see Wes mentioned among Pogba, Vidal, Khedira... I think Wes has the tools to (potentially) exceed Vidal, who was a great player in his prime. Those Chilean teams were amazing also.
it's a pretty "voodoo" comment. Much more likely related to whether someone is right or left footed and how they like to position their body.
Yeah, the 'eye' comment is funny/weird....but I have never heard a coach or analyst mention in 40+ years that a player highly prefers + is more effective with balls coming from a certain side of the pitch.
While, in general, I'd like to see McKennie stay at Juve, all the comments that Juve will inevitably rise up Could be Newcastle United fans... or Notts County
Serie A is 3rd, the Bundesliga is 4th: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_coefficient#Current_ranking
Cute how Massimiliano. who is a Pescara legend, compares himself to the likes of Vidal, Khedira, and Pogba.
OK I must not have articulated my point well. It's gonna sound a bit contradictory but here goes... tl;dr - Juve are not a great club anymore. Every other reason I'd accept a transfer away stems from that fact. If I really had a high opinion of Juve of course it would make sense for him to stick around. The new covid reality will hamper and slow their rebuild and I'm not excited by the prospect of Wes fighting for his life at a sinking megaclub that shows no signs (on the field) that they will right the ship anytime soon. An urgent move is NOT needed but he should welcome an exit before the situation affects him negatively. Some other points: 1. Any player in the world who is entering a WC year in their 20s could make a huge impact in the transfer market by performing well (either at club level to get called in, during WCQs, and/or during the cup itself) ... Wes is the perfect age to consider such a big move *if he wants to* ... to me, it would smart to deliberate over good offers after Qatar assuming his great form continues as expected 2. Here comes the contradictory bit that some are missing. If not for the WC on the horizon, I wouldn't really mind if Wes stayed a bit longer. By the time a similarly pivotal window in his career opens up he'll be 27-28 yrs old. So it's not the end of the world if he were to chill in Italy. 3. The other reason he should consider staying? If no better offer comes around. Many others have said the same thing and I agree. None of us really see eye to eye regarding which move would be better than staying at Juve but the point stands. We don't have a clear idea what the player wants for himself which would help narrow down which path is most realistic (if reports are right, he'd love to join an EPL club someday) 4. Ready for more contradiction? Juve is not a good team but they are still one of the best clubs in the world. My initial comments about potential transfers for McK were after seeing folks discuss his leaving Juventus for a place like Tottenham. I'm sorry but once he chose Juve over Southhampton (who are nowhere in the same universe as the Italian giants in reputation but not a bad choice for pure footballing reasons) I, as a fan/observer, think it would be an illogical step backwards to revert to a club with lower standing than Juve. If only "small" clubs are interested he should stay at Juve until the situation worsens. If he transferred within Italy i feel the same way: it would be weird to join Juve, succeed, and then transfer to somewhere like Cagliari next. 5. Someone else noted that Juve is the type of team RM would buy from. All big clubs are used to doing business together and trust each others scouts to a degree. They are all trying to guarantee that a significant investment will turn out well. So, whether fairly or not, Real Madrid is 10 times more likely to seek Wes now (healthy, 24 years old, unshakeable member of the squad at Juve) than if he'd been just as good playing for West Brom. And they might still have a go in 2, 3 or 4 years but I guess I'm a cynic. Opportunities don't always come around twice, athletes are one poorly timed injury away from a disappointing career, and the executives running the team (who had interest in you) could be gone by the time you want to take the plunge. For example, imagine if Wes had stayed in the Bundesliga a bit longer...with Pirlo and Paratici now gone, are we sure they'd have chased after him with the new manager taking over? This is kinda pointless though because there are no serious offers for him so we're all just speculating. I would be shocked if there aren't any new suitors this summer or the following window...so I've been thinking about it. Mea culpa There are plenty of reasons to accept a transfer other than playing time. I get why this seems crazy to other people. I'm just being honest cause I wouldn't care if he struggled to earn playing time while settling in at his next club. That's also why I hope he waits till after the WC to make a decision.
Point stands that England is a much better league. We see now how players- even top players- from both Italy and Germany struggle with the faster pace when they move to English clubs. It's like the old saying about New York: If you can 'make it there' in England, you can make it anywhere. In soccer terms, this is (basically) true* * with always a few exceptions of course.
The EPL is like a blockbuster movie: good if you like action. I'm more of the Bergman type: I like my soccer with brains behind it, so I watch La Liga and Serie A. It's only in the late years, when they have brought in several of the best coaches in the continent, and spent absurd amounts of money, that the EPL has become the top dog. But, below the top six clubs, I rather watch other leagues. Of course, since England and the USA belong to the same cultural sphere, it's no surprise that they are by far the favorite league for US fans. The tastes are similar.
Uh, that’s the only thing we are talking about and the only thing that matters here. The quality of these leagues now. And England wins by distance. And it’s a tired old meme that England is still some sort of ‘kick ball’ league. I like watching each of the leagues for their certain traits. To each his own.
He is fine where he is. He is clearly an almost-automatic starter at Juventus and any move to another CL-caliber club means increased competition for playing time. Such is the state of the current Juve midfield.
I'm just addicted to the idea of Wes helping lead a rebuild of a Big Club(TM) while continuing his obvious tactical and technical development in Serie A. Then maybe the big move in 3 or 4 years to England if one makes sense. But a move now to a Spurs or Leicester level club would feel like a giant letdown despite the quality of the team in the best league in the world. Puli to Chelsea, for example, was a very different thing.
Good article on where Madrid is in the transfer market, the last 2 years the club has been very frugal in order to get their books in order. https://www.marca.com/en/football/real-madrid/2021/12/26/61c8d8b222601d7a738b461e.html
Does anyone have any outside perspective on how McKennie is viewed internationally at present. Are we looking through YA colored glasses seeing him seemingly be the best player on a mediocre Juve team? Does the rest of Europe concede that as well (probably begrudgingly)?
Wait you’re telling me when you’re I. Huge debt you don’t take more loans in a desperate attempt to spend out of trouble??
2 things: 1. The fact that his manager compares him to pogba, vidal, khedira tells you how he is viewed. 2. If juve beat Milan this weekend. They will finish 2nd and potentially track inter down for the scudetto
Contrary to what tv shows would like us to believe, we Latin Americans don't call US citizens "Americanos". We say Norteamericanos. Edit: this probably needs more explanation. In Latin America there is no North American continent. It's one continent called America. So to say North American and refer to people north of Latin America including Mexico is perfectly logical. To get mildly annoyed that a country is trying to take over the word America is also perfectly logical.
I love that this streak has brought out some solid Juve optimism. Even with Chiesa hurt and no incoming transfers to an attack that needs bolstering yet.