USMNT star Weston McKennie claims Leeds boss ‘didn’t know who I was’ during forgettable loan spell in the Premier League from Juventus

The United States international midfielder linked up with the Whites in the winter transfer window of 2023, with the decision taken to walk away from Serie A giants Juventus. He endured a tough time in England, with relegation suffered out of the Premier League.

McKennie moved to Elland Road while fellow American Jesse Marsch was still in charge. He was sacked within a matter of days, as Michael Skubala inherited the reins on a caretaker basis. Javi Gracia then came and went in the space of 12 games, with Sam Allardyce seeing the 2022-23 campaign out.

McKennie has told The American Dream podcast of the issues that he experienced at Leeds – while stopping short of identifying the coach that appeared to be unaware of who he was and what his strengths were: “It kind of didn't help when I got there, I went there because of Jesse Marsch and then two weeks after I got there, he was sacked. I had four different managers in six months and I think one of my coaches honestly didn't know who I was. I'm not saying he should, but if a player is coming in on loan, you should know your squad. He put me outside of the box for corner kicks, and in my head I've scored 85% of my goals in my career off set-pieces and crosses.”

McKennie took in 20 appearances for Leeds, but failed to record a goal in any of them. He returned to Italy on the back of slipping out of the English top-flight and has worked his way back into favour with parent club Juventus.