Sign Weston McKennie! Premier League's elite clubs told to snap up USMNT star on a free transfer as he's tipped to shine in England despite nightmare Leeds spell

McKennie is a proven performer at the highest level, having already graced the German Bundesliga and the top-flight in Italy. He also has 62 international caps to his name and represented his country at the 2022 World Cup.

At 27 years of age, he should be at the peak of his powers. It has come as some surprise that Juve have not made the thrashing out of fresh terms one of their top priorities across the 2025-26 campaign.

McKennie has filled a number of roles for them, from full-back to creative playmaker, and those qualities will be embraced somewhere if the charismatic Washington native is allowed to leave Turin.

Friedel believes McKennie will attract interest from top clubs. Speaking in association with the Stake.com Sportsbook, the former USMNT goalkeeper told GOAL when asked what the short-term future could have in store: “For me - going back quite some years now when I was the U19 head coach - Weston, talent-wise, was the best that came through my group.

“After the first training session I said to my coaching staff: ‘Wow’. I had just come from Tottenham and done a lot of work in their academy. I was like: ‘He would be the best at Tottenham right now.’ That was with some good players. So, he should be landing at an incredible club. 

“He likes to play hard on and off the field, for sure. But he is a talent, he really is. I don’t think the Premier League got to see it because his time at Leeds wasn’t the greatest, but I don’t think people should judge him just on that because he has a lot of talent.”

Looking for smarter football bets? Get expert previews, data-driven predictions & winning insights with GOAL Tips on Telegram. Join our growing community now!

McKennie made just 20 appearances for Leeds after joining them on a short-term loan in January 2023, with relegation out of the Premier League being suffered.

He has since told The Athletic of that forgettable stint at Elland Road: “My time at Leeds was probably one of my lower points, if not the lowest in my professional career.

“I always look at the positive because I was at Juventus, playing week in and week out, and maybe I developed a little bit of comfortability or complacency, knowing I was going to play on the weekend. By going to Leeds and having the performance that I had there and the way that it just turned out in general - four coaches in five months, just nothing going to plan or how I imagined it.

“When I went there, my head was more: ‘OK, I want to go here, perform very well, put up numbers, help the team stay up and then hopefully another Premier League team, top five, comes in and sees how well I've played and then they would buy me’.”

That did not happen, but teams of that ilk may be interested now. Friedel believes they should be, adding when asked if McKennie will have an itch to scratch and a point to prove in England: “I hope so. Those are the kind of things that would grind inside of me. I hope so. 

“I would love to see Wes at one of the big clubs in England and doing incredibly well, I really would. I think it is the strongest league from top to bottom right now. I think he has the talent to be able to not just compete, but to be incredibly good in it.”

McKennie has spent six years tied to Juventus, taking in over 200 games, but appears ready to spread his wings once more. It may be that he decides to wait until after a home World Cup with the USMNT before making a decision on his future, with a window to clubs across the globe set to open up there.