Revealed: USMNT star Weston McKennie snubbed two teams that ‘weren’t top level’ in order to complete Juventus transfer

The United States international initially linked up with the Bianconeri on a season-long loan, with a deal done that took him away from German side Schalke. That agreement was turned into a permanent transfer and the USMNT star has now passed 100 appearances for the Serie A giants.

He has not always been a guaranteed starter, with a loan spell taken in at Leeds last season as they suffered relegation out of the Premier League, but the slate has been wiped clean by Massimiliano Allegri in 2023-24. McKennie remains fully committed to Juve, with the 25-year-old still pinching himself at the fact that they came calling when club legend Andrea Pirlo was filling the role of head coach.

McKennie has told Juventus’ official YouTube channel of how he ended up in Turin: “There were two clubs interested, but they weren’t top-level. Then I received a call from my agent who told me about the call from Juventus and that the club was interested in me. I wanted Juventus. I was on the bus with the team we were going to Austria for training and they told me that Andrea Pirlo would call me and I couldn’t believe it. I was having lunch with the team, we couldn’t have phones usually, but I saw that a number from Italy was calling me so I took the phone and left. There I realised that I was going to Juventus. The rest is history.”

There was a point over the summer in which it looked as though McKennine would be offloaded by Juve, but he played his way back into favour during pre-season – part of which was spent in his native United States – and he has now been joined at the Allianz Stadium by international team-mate Tim Weah.