Revealed: ‘Top player’ wage demands of USMNT star Weston McKennie as Aston Villa line up transfer to bring former Leeds loanee back to the Premier League

The United States international, who suffered relegation out of the English top-flight in 2023 during a loan spell at Leeds, is seeing a switch to Aston Villa lined up. That agreement will see the 25-year-old midfielder included in a part-exchange deal.

McKennie’s current employers, Juventus, are looking to lure Douglas Luiz away from Villa. They are prepared to include two players – with England U21 international Samuel Iling-Junior also being added to the package – in order to land Brazil international Luiz.

Terms are said to have been agreed between Juve and Luiz, but McKennie remains in talks regarding a settlement package – with there 12 months left to run on his contract in Italy. Tuttosport also reports that the American is demanding a “top player” salary at Villa – with his terms in Turin reportedly worth €2.5 million-a-year after tax.

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano still expects a deal to happen, telling Playback: “The problem, from what I am told, is not between McKennie and Aston Villa on the contract. The problem is between McKennie and Juventus on the exit conditions. When you leave a club and your contract and your salary is different to what you are going to get at your new club, you need to agree on the kind of compensation. There are some things to clarify between Juventus and McKennie to make this deal happen. All parties keep trying to find solutions, so Juventus and Aston Villa are talking to find the best solution. The deal has not collapsed, remains absolutely on, but they need to agree on this point on Weston McKennie.”

McKennie is otherwise engaged at present, which is doing little to help transfer discussions, with Copa America duty currently his top priority. An agreement may still be thrashed out, with the Washington native keen to know where he stands heading into the 2024-25 campaign.