Five USMNT stars who made transfers this summer that will boost their 2026 World Cup hopes

By recent standards, it was a quiet summer transfer widow for the biggest names from the United States.

Last year saw blockbuster moves to AC Milan for USMNT pair Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah, while Timothy Weah joined Juventus from Lille.

It seemed for most of this year’s transfer window that least one American soccer superstar would be on the move. Weston McKennie was first linked with a departure from Juventus in the deal that took Douglas Luis from Aston Villa to Turin. When the swap didn’t materialise and Juve instead signed Luiz in a conventional deal, the former Schalke midfielder was rumoured to be a target for Fiorentina.

But in the end, McKennie has stayed put, even penning a new contract with the 36-time Serie A champions.

Yet although none of the USMNT’s biggest stars have been the subject of summer switches, a handful of American players have made moves ahead of the 2024-25 European season that will boost their cause for greater involvement at international level ahead of the World Cup on home soil in two years’ time.

Tanner Tessmann

Linked with a move to Inter Milan for much of the summer, Tanner Tessmann instead joined Lyon in the final days of the transfer window, becoming the first American player to represent the Ligue 1 club.

The powerful 22-year-old midfielder impressed over three seasons in Italy with Venezia and was crucial to the club’s promotion from Serie B last term, scoring a career-best seven goals and providing three assists.

Entering the final year of his contract at the Pier Luigi Penzo, Tessmann was always likely to leave Venezia this summer. Landing in Lyon, where he will enjoy a central role at a major club within one of Europe’s top leagues, will serve his development well. The 6ft 2ins former Dallas FC man will hope to quickly add to his two senior international appearances.

Gaga Slonina

The third tier of English football might not be the most obvious place for a USMNT hopeful to earn a key role at the senior international level, but Gaga Slonina is already impressing on loan at Barnsley from parent club Chelsea.

The towering 20-year-old goalkeeper was twice named Man of the Match in his first four outings for the Tykes and was also the Player of the Round as he helped his side overcome Wigan Athletic on penalties in the first round of Carabao Cup.

Matt Turner, the current USMNT No.1, has joined Crystal Palace on loan from Nottingham Forest after falling from favour at the City Ground over the second half of last season. But the 30-year-old is unlikely to unseat Dean Henderson as the first-choice keeper at Selhurst Park.

That leaves the door open to a host of up-and-coming American goalkeepers to stake a claim for Turner’s international spot. Slonina, who has one cap to his name, will be near the front of the queue.

HAVE YOU SEEN? Five MLS stars whose transfer values have shot up this season, featuring forgotten Leeds Utd regret

Malik Tillman

Malik Tillman was one of the most productive attacking midfielders outside Europe’s five biggest leagues last season as he helped PSV claim the Eredivisie title.

On loan from Bayern Munich, the Germany-born 22-year-old scored nine league goals and provided 11 assists in just 1,591 minutes of action. That was enough to convince the Dutch club to snap him up in a permanent deal, paying €12 million (almost $14m) to tie down his services long-term.

And already in the new campaign, Tillman has picked right up where he left off last term, with two goals from the first three rounds of Eredivisie fixtures. The 12-cap former Rangers loanee should be central to new manager Mauricio Pochettino’s plans for the USMNT.

Mark McKenzie

Once one of the most promising young defenders in US soccer, Mark McKenzie earned a USMNT debut in 2020 before securing a switch to Europe the following year, leaving the Philadelphia Union for Genk in a $6 million deal.

The 25-year-old centre-back didn’t disappoint across three seasons with the renowned Belgian talent developers, winning a Belgian Cup and racking up 128 appearances and scoring five goals.

But more recently McKenzie has fallen from view at international level, without a USMNT appearance since last year. A €3 million ($3.2m) move to French top-tier side Toulouse this summer should help alert Pochettino to his quality.

Auston Trusty

A 2022 move to Arsenal ought to have been Auston Trusty’s big break in Europe, but the talented American centre-back failed to make a single first-team appearance for the Gunners before being sold to Sheffield United a year later.

At Bramall Lane, Trusty became a regular starter. But as part of a relegated side who boasted the league’s worst defensive record with 104 goals conceded, his reputation was hardly enhanced by his time in Yorkshire.

The 26-year-old has not added to the two appearances for the States he earned in 2023. But a £6 million ($7.8m) deadline-day move to Celtic, where he will team up with fellow USMNT centre-back Cameron Carter-Vickers, could get Trusty’s once-promising international career back on track.

READ NEXT: Seven of the best MLS signings from final week of the transfer window: Premier League veteran, Bundesliga legend…