Weston McKennie, Zack Steffen and 10 USMNT stars who missed out on much-needed transfers during the summer window

Weston McKennie's situation looks better than it did just a few weeks ago, as it does seem he has some sort of role with Juventus. The problem is that role is the same as Tim Weah's, at least for now.

McKennie, who spent the second half last season on loan with Leeds United, is now filling in as a makeshift right wing-back, where Weah has been pencilled in as the go-to starter. McKennie came off the bench for the first two games of the season to replace Weah, but was then handed the start in Juve's third match, a 2-0 win over Empoli.

Playing time is good, no matter where it is, but it would obviously be best for McKennie to be getting consistent minutes in midfield. Could he play his way into that role? Absolutely, but Massimiliano Allegri will seemingly take some convincing.

McKennie was linked with clubs all over Europe this summer, but ultimately remained at Juventus. Perhaps this gets revisited in January but, for now, we'll have to see if he can earn a bigger role than Weah's back-up for this first half of the season.

After helping Luton Town achieve promotion to the Premier League while on loan last season, it felt like Ethan Horvath had found a home. Unfortunately, things didn't work out that way.

Luton opted to go in a different direction, meaning Horvath would return to Nottingham Forest. He was soon joined at the City Ground by USMNT team-mate Turner, who has been given the starting spot, with Horvath as his back-up.

However, even that didn't last long, as the club went out and signed Greece international Odysseas Vlachodimos from Benfica. Not only does that threaten Turner's No.1 spot, but it also pushes Horvath to third on the depth chart.

As he looks to remain in the USMNT picture after going to the 2022 World Cup, Horvath needs minutes, and it doesn't seem there will be any to go around at his current club.

Jesus Ferreira got himself a new nickname this summer, but he didn't get a move to Europe. 'The Pirate of the Caribbean' was one of the stories of the summer as he lit up some of CONCACAF's lesser opponents in the Gold Cup. However, it probably isn't good enough to move Ferreira up the USMNT striker pecking order, as he likely remains behind both Balogun and Ricardo Pepi.

He's dominated in Dallas, hitting double digits, but it seems that Ferreira may need to conquer a level other than MLS. He's comfortable with FC Dallas, and paid extremely well, but there are questions whether his development would be better served in Europe.

Napoli were reportedly interested, and that would have been a massive step up for sure. Ferreira, though, will likely be better for it as he continues his growth as a striker.

You can't fault him for wanting to continue the season with Dallas, a team fighting for a playoff spot, but this winter could be a good time to reassess what's best for his career.

Like Ferreira, Brandon Vazquez is a player fighting for a spot in the striker depth chart and, like Ferreira, he didn't make the leap to Europe this summer. It wasn't for a lack of trying, as it seemed that Vazquez was fully prepared to move to Germany. Borussia Monchengladbach were ready to sign the USMNT striker, only for FC Cincinnati to block the move.

You can understand it from Cincy's point of view. After already losing star forward Brenner to Udinese, losing Vazquez would have totally killed their season. As things stand, the club is on a record-setting pace and seems to be the favorites to win MLS Cup. You can't blame them for choosing the team over the striker's ambitions.

Could Gladbach come back later on? Vazquez will hope so as he looks set to make his next step at some point soon.

Has Cade Cowell gotten all he can out of his time at the San Jose Earthquakes? That was one of the big questions this summer, as the USMNT starlet has made the leap to the senior team after a strong Under-20 World Cup, but is there anything more he can learn in MLS?

The answer very well could be 'probably not'. Cowell is as physically gifted as they come, blessed with elite pace and strong dribbling ability. However, his technical skills and decision-making in the final third still need big improvements if he's to become a truly elite player.

Bologna, Newcastle and Bayern Munich were among those linked with Cowell, and even if he didn't break through initially, each would give him a competitive training environment. If the goal is for Cowell to truly develop, he'll need to make the move to a big league at some point.

USMNT full-back Reggie Cannon got away from Boavista this summer, terminating his contract after three years with the club. “In Portugal in the past three years, I’ve only been paid on time once,” Cannon told Futbol Americans in a wide-ranging interview about the club's mismanagement. “It’s been difficult for the players, it’s been difficult for the staff. It just came out that the staff was behind payments for six months."

However, as we enter September, Cannon remains a free agent. He was linked to West Brom and Burnley at one point this summer, but a move never came to fruition. Because he is a free agent, he still could sign with a club somewhere in Europe, but his future remains very much uncertain.

It's not an ideal situation for a player that, at one point, looked like a good bet for the 2022 World Cup roster. It's no fault of his own how bad things got at Boavista, but now he's left picking up the pieces as he looks to get his career back on track.

Zack Steffen had no intention of returning to Manchester City for this season, but after an operation, he'll spend at least the first part of the campaign at the club. The goalkeeper underwent knee surgery in June, with that procedure expected to keep him out for the first few months of the season. Steffen had previously drawn interest from Leicester City after a solid season in the Championship with Middlesbrough last season, but a deal never came to pass.

It's a tough spot to be in for Steffen, who tumbled down the USMNT pecking order due to a lack of playing time. He missed the 2022 World Cup because of that, but given his age, there's plenty of reason to believe he can be back in the picture by 2026.

To do so, though, he needs to play. Let's see what the winter brings once he's all healed up.

Chris Richards showed what he could do this summer, showing out for the USMNT during the Nations League. His club situation, though, is tough as he hasn't quite broken through at Crystal Palace.

Richards made just 10 total appearances last season and has yet to feature in the league for Palace in 2023-24, although he did play in a win over Plymouth in the Carabao Cup. The 23-year-old defender truly needs playing time to develop and, if he gets it, he very well could be the USMNT's starting center-back of the present and future.

Reports says Stuttgart were prepared to offer him minutes, but that move never came to be. Now, he'll have to battle it out at Palace and, hopefully, break through at some point after spending much of the last year down the pecking order.

It may very well end up being a blessing that Taylor Booth stayed put, but you can't help but wonder what would have happened if he didn't. After a breakout season with Utrecht, Booth was linked with Ajax, PSV and, most notably, Manchester United, with Erik ten Hag said to be impressed with the American midfielder. Utrecht have kept hold of Booth for another year, but it seems that big clubs are keeping a close eye on him.

That's good news for Booth, whose challenge is to now replicate and, hopefully, improve on last season's performances. If he does that, his big transfer could come soon.

This situation looks like it'll be taken care of soon but, as of this moment, Alan Sonora is without a club. After leaving Independiente, Sonora signed with Juarez in February, but left the club by mutual consent in July. Now in September, the midfielder is still without a club.

Argentinian sides Racing and Huracan are said to be interested as it seems Sonora will be heading back to South America as he looks to build on his five USMNT caps this cycle.