I like that one, or maybe a modification to "He's no longer part of the project (AGAIN): Weston Mckennie at Juventus."
I never get to humble-brag like others in these threads so let me have my chance for once... I was at this game and watched Wes intently. It was very clear that his job was to shut down Dumfries, which I think he largely did. Just physically looking at them, Dumfries has the legs of a svelte gazelle, whereas Wes has the body of an... American gazelle. But he did so well to run his @SS off on defense, except for one play in the first half where Juve lost their shape and Wes stepped forward to mark the ball carrier instead of Dumfries. Wes and Tudor then has a nice in-game conversation with classic Italian gesticulating and it never happened again. From a social perspective, I have to say I saw absolutely zero McKennie jerseys in Turin, on peoples back or in any of the Juve shops. Home fans seemed relatively indifferent about him, barely giving him a clap when he was subbed out. He's never going to be a huge standout player, but tough to see that his hard work is not recognized more. But hugely fun to watch him, and of course, a wonderful match to attend.
Per TM, he's in the top-100 Juve players by number of appearances with 185 (and by the end of this season he'll likely eclipse Pogba, Thuram sr, and Baggio), so that's a little disappointing to hear. I didn't expect him to be a club legend, but he certainly puts in the work. That said, I'm not entirely surprised given the way his last 2 contract negotiations were reported by the press.
His time at Juve also coincides with their worst spell in what, 30 years (Calciopoli aside)? The guys racking up appearances in those dry periods tend to become emblematic of the club's decline regardless of their quality.
Wes with the start vs Dortmund! 📋 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑴𝑷𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑺 𝑳𝑬𝑨𝑮𝑼𝑬 𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑹𝑻𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑿𝑰 🖤 🤍#JuveBVB #UCL pic.twitter.com/E8I4sKMBRF— JuventusFC 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@juventusfcen) September 16, 2025
4-4! Juve has a horrid defense but a dynamic offense! For those unfamiliar with the traditional catenacciari of Italian football, that was one heck of an exiting game against Borussia!
Juventus-Borussia Dortmund 4-4, le pagelle della partita di Champions | Sky Sport Weston McKennie voto 5.5 Juventus-Borussia Dortmund, le pagelle di CM: Vlahovic-Yildiz fenomenali. Di Gregorio peggiore in campo | Calciomercato McKennie 5.5: Se chiedi diligenza e adesione al compito, ce l’avrai. Servirebbero anche spunto, accelerazioni e un pizzico di fantasia. Mancano e su quella fascia la Juve non va mai via. Dal 59’ Joao Mario 6: Fatica ad entrare in partita, ma qualche sgasata la concede. McKennie 5.5: If you ask for diligence and adherence to the task, you'll get it. Some spark, acceleration, and a touch of creativity are also needed. Something is missing, on that flank for Juve and they never really get going. From the 59th minute Joao Mario 6: Struggles to get into the game, but he manages to make a few bursts. Juventus-Borussia Dortmund 4-4, pagelle e tabellino: Kelly salva i bianconeri in extremis | Goal.com Italia VOTI JUVENTUS: Di Gregorio 6; Kalulu 5.5, Bremer 5.5, Kelly 7; McKennie 6 (59' Joao Mario 6), Koopmeiners 6 (69' Adzic 6), Thuram 5.5, Cambiaso 5.5; Openda 6 (69' Locatelli 6), David 5 (60' Vlahovic 7), Yildiz 8 (86' Zhegrova sv)
It really looked to me like McKennie was given very specific instructions not to let Beier get much real estate. In general Juve was marking very tightly the whole first half - but especially wide (hence the 5 backs). I don't really think that was Wes' idea - he made very few runs, when he did he came back fast - I think the plan was to tie BVB up for 55 or 60 mins, and if Juve weren't up, then go at them and snag the winner... just seems like there were 7 other goals Kovac didn't plan on.
Weston McKennie is a good marking specialist. I do wonder if his skill set has been a little blunted by his years at Juve. He’s asked to be a glue guy and a versatile, steady body, ready to sacrifice for the team at all times. And he’s played for Juve 186 times, which is absolutely remarkable for an American. Just a normal dude from Texas. He still needs surgery on his shoulder from years of it being out of whack, I believe.
the Joao Mario ratings are interesting to see, because IMO, he didn't add much that Wes wasn't already providing, he just happened to enter the game during a fortuitous period. The switch needed to happen (Wes was running out of gas), but other subs made a bigger impact (namely a target forward going into Beast Mode resulting in 2 goals and one assist). Mario wasn't bad, he just wasn't noticeably better than Wes... I think the Goal Italia ratings are more accurate (both given a 6.0)
We're talking about him backing up the wings now for the nats? He needs to get out of Juve if he's just going to be used constantly as a swiss army knife. I think he's improved as much as he can with them (and it was substantial imo) and it's time to move on.
Someone like Tessmann who consistently plays in central midfield pivot for his club as an comparison.
I do think one of the things that Wes brings you as a "northern Italian army knife" is the ability to shift tactically in a way that many mangers would likely find useful. There are a lot of teams/managers these days still playing with things like the CM-slide-to-CD with aggressive overlapping FBs or the ability to deploy a libero man-marker against certain opponents, who can also contribute offensively etc. Wes seems to be one of the more versatile assignment guys able to slot into a variety of formations. It might limit his marquee visibility, but it does seem to keep him on the grass. There are a number of worlds where you might not even have Wes as your starting 6 or CM or B2B midfielder, but find him useful in any number of line-up adjustments.
It doesn’t look like Tudor is going to give Wes anytime as a CM unless there are some injuries. It doesn’t help that they are only playing two CMs but he isn’t even getting sub minutes. Silver lining is he can’t be blamed for a bad result like today
Weston’s place in the national team as a starter or even a reserve can very well be in jeopardy if he can’t play for his club team. I know the USMNT can be an exception but traditionally, if a player can’t play consistently for his club team, not many national team coaches will choose him in the end. If McKennie isn’t going to be starting or even playing much for Juventus from now until January , he could very well be gone at that point. Reports in Italy are Tudor doesn’t care for his style so unless there are injuries, he’s probably done at Juve.
Guess it's reasonably likely he either works his way back into rotation by Xmas, or gets some kind of loan/move at Winter Break. Juve top of table at (for) the moment. Both Napoli and Cremonese have bottom-dwellers tomorrow/Mon, so they could be relegated to 3rd, but as long as their in the top few coach will do whatever he wants.