Surprised that Juve is not working on offering him a long term contract. He is one of their key players last season. I can't imagined him being surplus. Does Juve really have a handful of quality midfielders ahead of him?
I think they do now…or are planning to by the end of this summer. Re waiting his contract out with the idea that he can get a higher salary w/o a transfer fee to be amortized. Sometimes that works…sometimes you’re John Brooks and miss clubs roster planning window and end up stuck waiting for a club to have an early season emergency.
If and when he comes back to the states for MLS - he will be paid very well - and yes closer to family. But he seems to relish the challenge and that is why he said he went to Leeds in the first place. EPL is just much more of a challenge than the MLS. Seems that the Aston Villa situation was primarily about having a wage bump - given the totality of his performance last year - that certainly seems reasonable. I think Buffett is the one that said - the market is mechanism to transfer wealth from the impatient to the patient. I imagine a wise move on Wes's part is not to jump but to carefully think through his options - there is no rush today - you never know maybe Motta will decide he wants Wes and will provide a wage bump to keep him happier. Just does not seem like a crisis right now - but it is silly transfer season.
That’s if he gets a winter transfer, there’s no guarantee it would happen. How many teams are willing to pay a transfer fee in January for a player that will be out of contract six months later? I don’t see Juve letting him leave for free in January. If Juve signs Koop and Thuram then Wes’ chances of breaking into the starting lineup are slim. I could see him playing in Coppa games, being used as a sub, etc. but I think him starting would be far are few between. I could also see Juve exclude him from the CL roster, which they’ve done to players before. Especially if they make it to the next round. Wes was Juve’s second best midfielder this past season. He deserves a pay raise, is €5 million realistic? Keep in mind that’s net pay so it means close to €10 million or more elsewhere. He’ll never get that from MLS. I think finding a team in the CL could be difficult for him.
Word is they were, but he wanted a salary they weren’t willing to pay, €5 million net a season. Wes was the second best midfielder last season, if Juve signs who everyone expects them to then he would fall down the pecking order.
He has the charisma and background that might appeal to folks far more than say Pulisic though. He gives some solid assists though.
The color commentator for the Cincinnati game broadcast tonight just said that McKennie left the USMNT training camp at some point recently to visit Cincinnati based on the offer they made.
I am not fully convinced on this. Just because new players arrived, that does not always necessarily lead to automatic 'falling behind' for exsting players. New players will need time to adjust to a new club, league, culture, etc. And there's no guarantee that Wes can't compete against them for a spot on the starting 11. Perhaps initially, Wes might lose his starting spot to the new players; but if he continues to play well and put out consistent performances then I am sure he can find his way back into the starting 11 a few months later.
It’s not just the new players, with Luiz arriving and Fagioli returning, McKennie has already lost his spot in a Motta midfield. The best thing that happened to Wes last season was Fagioli being suspended until April and Pogba being suspended. That allowed him to slot right in.
The sky is always falling on Wes’ club career in June. Then you turn around in October and he’s fine.
True. Though I’d say I’m not sure anyone in Juve’s leadership has been satisfied with where they’ve finished in each of the seasons Wes has played a big part. That’s the point. They’re trying to get better…not maintain the form they’ve shown when Wes has been a big part of the squad.
Who in Serie A kinda overpays for guys salaries and underachieves? Like who is the ManU of Serie A, Roma?
The history of footie transfers is rife with teams willing to either sell early (if Juve wants Wes' salary off the books) or wait 6 months for a player (if a team wants him on a free.) I got no idea about the negotiations or who is being unreasonable or any of it (although, if we let history be the guide, Juve has a much bigger history of shenanigans than Wes does, but that doesn't mean he's not being unreasonable here.) My main point is simply that Wes has enough history/proven ability at this point that even if he's a bench player for 6 months or a year - but is then available on a free - it is unlikely to hurt his value very much. He's not in the "fans are clamoring for him/we'll overpay" tier, he's in the "expensive but not outrageous and has proven ability" tier. Barring an injury or actually being played by Juve and really stinking the joint up repeatedly, Wes' valuation will stay about where it is and any slip due to DNP status will be countered by "the mattress is Free! Free! Free!" Now, if he's high on his own supply and thinks he's worth more than anyone is willing to pay - yeah, that number won't go up much if he's sitting on the bench. But whatever is being offered now, unless it's very team/position specific, will be about the same next year.
I’d imagine it’s possible his wages could be higher if he comes on a free without the transfer fee to account for, given he continues to play at least a little bit next year.
Fagioli? Really? I saw Fagioli. Fagioli is not that good. I don't see anyone in that midfield Wes can't or hasn't beaten out. You Juve mother*ckers been callin for the end of Wes since before he ever began with you, 4 years ago. Maybe it happens this year, but come Sept. or Oct. don't be surprised he hasn't won a spot in that lineup somewhere
Yeah, I don't pretend to know specifics and whether his pay goes up or down marginally, my only point is we've seen this movie before on occasion and for a guy like Wes, who is not going to be wildly expensive (for a top tier player) there's likely to be an offset for any loss in pay due to playing time by an increase in pay due to lack of transfer fee - how it exactly nets out I dunno. I'd also float the possibility, even if Wes comes in as 5 or 6th choice midfielder, Juve's ambitions are such that, if they don't rocket out of the gate, there's going to be pressure to switch things up. Maybe Juve fires on all 11 cylinders right out of the jump. But if they don't, at some point there will be pressure to switch it up. I'm not convinced Wes gets 100% iced out in any scenario. But I still predict a deal someplace gets worked out. Juve don't want to pay him if they don't think they need and him and they don't want to forgo a fee. My guess is Wes ends up somewhere else.
There is no way he left camp to visit Cincinnati. Commentator must've fell for this bs with an old photo of Wes... Breaking 🚨 There's been a confirmed sighting of Weston training at MHTC in Milford, OH. #WestonWatch #allforcincy pic.twitter.com/kWGz3FuGIS— two trees (@two_trees_G) June 21, 2024
Wes asked that they FedEx some skyline chili to camp so he could evaluate the offer but FCC insisted the only true tasting must occur within Cincinnati proper.
" Maybe. He didn't sound like he was referencing a tweet or anything, but I guess it's possible: 👀 pic.twitter.com/9hiB7YHSlr— ۟ (@media2fe) June 23, 2024
The dish is superior to the player for sure. But being native Italian for Juve is like being a brit in the EPL; it raises your worth a bunch.
ironically, no one is mentioning Weah. Obviously Weah's position changed across the season, but iirc correctly the first 5-10 games last year Wes and Weah were like-for-like swaps, with Weah starting the first few, then Wes taking that spot. Wasn't/isn't the Bean Guy mostly a center CM? Of course, the formation/run out will be different and there's less room for Wes if Motta goes back to a 4-3-3, but in a 4-2-3-1 there's more room for/need for Wes at least some of the time... will be interesting, tho I still think Wes makes a deal someplace, even if it's an extension at Juve. I don't know a ton about Motta's coaching style, tho he is mentioned a bit as a "Dutch" style coach by Dutch footie people (fwiw). Here's an analysis I stumbled on. No idea how good it is, but it's interesting. Much of what they suggest Motta likes (which is pretty stock "modern" footie stuff) like a 4-1-4-1 that transition to 2 high-pressing attackers (9 and 10) and a high-energy, fast attack style are good for a player like Wes. His fast, short passing style (assuming that's accurate) might play less to Wes' strengths but is something he's pretty used to... could be interesting if Wes stays. From this a few other Motta articles I skimmed this AM, Wes is in many ways a player Motta might use well. https://totalfootballanalysis.com/h...a-at-bologna-202223-tactical-analysis-tactics