From ‘unique’ to ‘unfortunate’ in 33 minutes! Jesse Marsch reacts to brief spell as manager of USMNT star Weston McKennie at Leeds

The Whites were considered to have pulled off quite the coup when luring McKennie to Elland Road during the January transfer window of 2023. The United States international arrived from Serie A giants Juventus on a short-term loan and there was no doubting his pedigree or potential.

Things did not play out as planned for all concerned from the moment that deal was done, with American coach Marsch relieved of his duties after just one substitute appearance for McKennie. Leeds would go on to suffer relegation out of the Premier League at the end of the season.

Marsch has told the Call It What You Want podcast of briefly working alongside a fellow countryman in West Yorkshire: “Everything always has to fit from different perspectives. It was what was unique when we got Weston McKennie. It wasn’t easy to pull him out of Juventus and to get him to agree to come to a club in a relegation battle, but I was really appreciative that we made that connection and he came, but it was unfortunate that we didn’t get to work more together.”

Marsch also had USMNT stars Brenden Aarsonson and Tyler Adams at his disposal, but the former struggled to make an impact in English football and the latter suffered an unfortunate injury that cut his 2022-23 campaign short. McKennie, meanwhile, is now back in Italy and enjoying a personal renaissance with Juventus.