also looks like Hojbjerg to Tottenham is happening Pierre-Emile Højbjerg will be joining #thfc for a fee in the region of £15M. Kyle Walker-Peters will be moving in the opposite direction to join Southampton for around £12M. | @SkySportsNews pic.twitter.com/ypaADwTf3b— Daily Hotspur (@Daily_Hotspur) August 4, 2020
Small world. Hojbjerg spent a year with Schalke on loan from Bayern 4 or 5 years ago. He was around the same age as Wes' first year and did about as well. I don't recall us trying to buy him at the end of the loan. Bayern sold him to Southhampton for 16MM IIRC. Spurs is likely off the table as a Weston destination. Lets see what Southhampton offers Schalke for McKennie.
As I have pointed out several times on this thread the Rudy purchase was the on that drove supporters crazy given that we had already purchased Mascarell and Serdar that same window!
I came across this quote from a few days ago that I hadn't seen before: https://www.fussballtransfers.com/a3000114099079006643-wolverhampton-dementiert-mckennie-geruechte Google Translated: Wolverhampton denies McKennie rumors Wolverhampton Wanderers apparently show no interest in Weston McKennie from FC Schalke 04. 'Sky Sports' quotes a representative of the English first division club: "He is a good player, but we are not interested." Wolves' interest was first reported by CBS Sports I believe, and then repeated by ESPN, along with that of half a dozen other Premier League clubs.
On a podcast I heard Southampton’s counter pressing style explained liked this: “basically it’s like throwing you a football and when you’re about to catch it, they distract you, and punch you in the nose”. I laughed and thought...... that fits Weston like a glove. That’s a perfect way to describe Weston’s game.
Still hope that Bentaleb moves to Newcastle. A 10MM transfer fee is cheap for a 25yo who has proved that he can be an EPL rotational starter. Steve Bruce, trainer at Bentaleb's Newcastle United rental station , had previously announced that transfer negotiations with Schalke 04 are likely to be protracted. All parties have until October 5 to reach an agreement. The signs could be worse. https://www.wa.de/sport/schalke-04/...emier-league-gelsenkirchen-news-90012582.html
Schalke currently consider midfielder Weston McKennie as the primary "star player" candidate to be sold this summer. Southampton have concrete interest in the American as a replacement for former Schalke loanee Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, who's on his way to Tottenham. [Bild,🥈] #S04 pic.twitter.com/gwItuG3SxZ— Schalke Daily (@S04Daily) August 5, 2020
When zillions of clubs get named like that it's either the agent or the club that wants to sell that has put the bad info out.
For those who think the silly season has been too tame so far, here is the obligatory disgruntled players piece. Schalke is seething: Harit & McKennie just want to leave https://www.fussballtransfers.com/a...uf-schalke-harit-mckennie-wollen-nur-noch-weg
yeah think that was TSS with the Athletics Southampton writer Paul Ankh or something like that. He was far from complimentary of McKennie, in response to the McKennie question he started off with, can I just be mean, I don’t see it. And it got worse from there.
It was. That’s exactly where I heard it. I can’t say disagree too much. I don’t think he was harsh. I think he was just brutally honest with no sugar coating. That’s not to say I don’t think Weston is a good footballer. I just think there’s more grit and determination than end product. Where I disagree with Paul is that I think some of that is because Weston hasn’t locked down a firm position, he’s had 3 or 4 managers, and he doesn’t have good players around him. Paul’s argument is that Weston’s deficiencies are not environmental / situational. That’s why I’m eager to see him leave. I need to see him in another environment to see if my assessment is or isn’t true.
I agree he needs some improvement but I don’t think he is that far off. Maybe it was my bias but I just didn’t think his current level was as low as that correspondent was saying. I do recognize that this could be my bias speaking. Like you though, I am eager to seek him in another environment where he has different pressures and will grow in different ways (hopefully consistency, awareness and off ball movement).
You don't need to be a professional football commentator to realize Wes is tactically limited. He can be an asset in the right team with the right coach, but in a wrong setting he'll be hitting the bench fast. Since I follow our YAs mainly thinking of the NT, however, I can also say individual tactics are just not as important in the international game, where you barely have time to learn the basics about your mates. There, eagerness & adaptability are much more important. So whatever happens with his club career, I see Wes as a valuable asset for us.
Some other views on McKennie: 1. https://totalfootballanalysis.com/p...mckennie-schalke-tactical-analysis-statistics "McKennie is not just brawn and no brains, however: he is remarkably intelligent for a player his age. One of the hallmarks of a great midfielder is being familiar with one’s surroundings and positioning. Some examples include knowing when to drop in deeper to support the defence, checking shoulders to see danger around the top of the penalty area, and moving across to shield for other players: McKennie is adept at all of these." 2. https://targetscouting.com/2020/06/20/weston-mckennie-player-report/ "In midfield, he shows himself as a very intelligent player out of possession, he’s well drilled and understands the system. He’s well positioned, able to block passing lanes and support the wide press in the layers behind. He reads play well and is therefore able to sense danger, make interceptions and get across to press early, making up for his lack of great speed over a few yards. What he does very well is lurking in midfield, meaning he ‘lurks’ behind players who are the passing option out of the Schalke press. ... ... McKennie himself could have better positioning though when his team have the ball. A lot of the passes he makes are after picking up a loose ball or winning possession, he picks up his head early and plays simple but smooth passes to the nearest teammate and his job is done. However when his team are trying to build, when he isn’t asked to drop between the centre halves, he doesn’t offer himself to the defence and is passive in his positioning" 3. https://smarterscout.com/articles/b...mnt-fabian-ruiz-napoli-luiz-gustavo-righteous "McKennie started out as a combative CM who was good in the air but didn't offer much going forward. ... Enter David Wagner. ... At DM, McKennie looks like a triple threat – pass, dribble, or shoot – who can storm into the box but still fulfills his defensive responsibilities. He's still well above average in every kind of duel, too. By comparison, at CM he appeared relatively ineffective on the ball in attack and a hugely aggressive defensive specialist. And it gets better. McKennie's ball retention is actually rated much higher at DM, which has a more challenging standard than at CM, showing just how much his game has matured. There can often be a tradeoff between ball retention and attacking output for young players; they either play too safely or fast and loose. But McKennie is generating excellent attacking output for a deep-lying midfielder even as his ability to maintain possession has improved."
The bolded is the place I agree (regarding place Wes can improve - I also agree with a lot of the positives.) One of the reasons I hope he goes to a 'calmer" styled team is learning his positioning in deliberate build-up is hard to do on a hard-charging press-and-counter team. A more "heady" soccer style may not play to Wes' greatest strengths as much (although any team can use a guy with his lungs, harrier and air ability and direct style of play now and again) but I think will help Wes increase his possession positioning and tactical IQ. I'm interested in the idea that Wes played "CM" vs. "DM" for Wagner and had different outcomes. I didn't dig into the link yet but it would be interesting to see which line ups they considered which.
I like Southhampton way more than Everton. for some reason I thought that made sense when he was dirst mentioned with them,but who knows what's real on transfers, or even if it is real they can still "not get done" right up until paperwork gets signed. We shall see what happens, I sure wouldn't mind seeing more Yanks in the EPL.
Uses a kind of heat-map, showing Wes much closer to Schalke’s goal for Wagner and thus a DM. Then they show a decent amount of advanced analytics to demonstrate his improved play. He’s in some good company as a DM. it’s a good read. Seems to me that Wes is a player who just fails the eye test with a lot of experienced observers, but analytics loves Wes- he’s a money ball player.
I'm in the minority here it seems but I think Wes is a quality player tactically and skill wise. Not just aggressive and high energy. As others have mentioned, a new team with better players around him will help determine what kind of player he is. I think he'd do well and start on most any team In England.
hard to know tactically how wes has improved based on whatever the heck happened last season at schalke
I only watched him 4 or 5 times at Schalke and the ball-winning stood out right away. I don’t think you win that many balls in the midfield without routinely being in the right spot. It’s not all size and aggression. My best guess is that Wes and Adams as the 2 in a 4-2-3-1 would be formidable for the USMNT. They both seem capable of disrupting the opponent’s buildup and supporting the attack better than any previous USMNT pair. I could not care less about 6s and 8s. These two guys are modern versatile players who can hide some of the weakness behind them, and facilitate some of the emerging greatness in front of them. Watching that opportunity be squandered over the next six years — if it is squandered — will be painful.