Weston McKennie: The rebirth of the Juventus star, why Man Utd now want to sign him and the truths around his Leeds struggles

After a tough end to last season getting relegated with Leeds United, Weston McKennie has returned to his very best form with Juventus and has recently become the subject of transfer attention from Manchester United.

Out of his 28 games played this season, he’s started 26 of them and in 23 of these games he’s played 80+ minutes. The USA midfielder has become a reliable player for Juve under Max Allegri. But what’s he good at and how would he fit in at rumoured suitors Manchester United?

McKennie has been thriving as an all-action No 8 in a box-to-box role. But in this role it’s particularly his creativity which has shone. With a good weight of pass, McKennie offers a lot of verticality into the Juventus midfield.

He has a variety of different types of passes: through balls in the final third, passes over the top of the defence from deep, crosses from the half space, whipped crosses from out on the wings. This passing range has really suited him playing with a target man outlet who runs in behind and is good aerially. Juventus have profiles that fit this.

Polish striker Arkadiusz Milik is a target man who’s aerially strong, Turkish striker Kenan Yildiz loves to run in behind and Serbian striker Dusan Vlahovic fits both categories. Vlahovic runs in behind constantly to be a pass option for a through ball or pass over the top. When Vlahovic has his back to goal, he loves to receive the ball then turn and shoot and gets on the end of crosses.

McKennie’s assists this season actually further highlight what type of creator he is and who he links up with. This season the American midfielder has nine assists and seven of them have been in Serie A. Out of these, eight all come from the strikers mentioned – two for Milik, one for Yildiz and five for Vlahovic – showing how much McKennie suits playing with an all-rounder striker like Vlahovic who’s a multi-faceted threat.

With links to Manchester United, you could see him combining with Danish striker Rasmus Hojlund in a very similar manner. Profile-wise, Hojlund is very similar to Vlahovic. Both have a powerful left foot, both are 6’3”, very strong and physical target men who have good back-to-goal play, both love to run in behind and are quick for their size.

Comparing the level of service the two strikers get makes it clear that Hojlund needs more creators around him. This season so far in Serie A, Vlahovic has received 6.64 progressive passes per 90 minutes, resulting in him getting off 4.59 shots per 90 minutes – a very high shot volume.

Hojlund on the other hand has only received 4.61 progressive passes per 90 minutes, taking only 1.78 shots per 90 minutes, which is much fewer shots (down to Hojlund too) and progressive passes received. There are better progressive midfielders than McKennie but that’s certainly one way in which he’d be useful for Manchester United.

McKennie is much better suited to a system which is possession-based. In this type of system he can be an all-action #8 tasked with many roles: pushing up and box crashing or combining with other attackers, being a deep progressor carrying the ball, creating from deep with long balls over the top of the defence, being very physical in duels and an athletic ball winner. Overall, he suits playing deeper to create from further back but also with the licence to occasionally push up, which is the ideal profile for a double-pivot system.

McKennie has played all over the pitch during his career, as a No 6, No 8, No 10, winger, second striker, wide midfielder and a wing-back. The reason he’s been able to play all these roles to a good level is his physical attributes and understanding of the game. He is a ‘jack-of-all-trades’ type midfielder where he’s good at a bit of everything but not exceptional at anything in particular. This type of profile is very useful to have within the squad of a top team though as a rotational option.

Prior to his loan move at Leeds United in January 2023, there were many other teams who looked at him, most notably Brighton and Arsenal – both very heavily possession-based sides who saw him as someone who’d been undervalued due to being misused at Juventus. This is still the case but he’s been better; put him in a heavily possession-orientated team and his creativity will shine whilst also being able to utilise his physical capabilities off the ball and when carrying it.

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But what about his time at Leeds? The difference at Leeds was that he played under Jesse Marsch, Javi Gracia and in the final last act of desperation, Sam Allardyce. Those managers played a very direct style: end-to-end, high action stuff. Whilst McKennie is a good ball carrier and effective in all phases of play, he’s much better suited to a slower build up play. Leeds required him to run more, carry up the pitch, be more direct.

These teams had less of the ball and a philosophy not centred around possession. That’s what he needs. In these Leeds systems, it’s important to have very quick carriers but even more importantly, players who release the ball really quickly to the more advanced attackers. McKennie would hold the ball too long, not release quick enough and be dispossessed. If in a system where they build up from the back and pass the ball in a more structured, gradual way, he’d do much better.

The truths around McKennie’s Leeds struggles

By James Marshment

McKennie never felt settled at Leeds with it only being a loan move and with the club being in a something of a precarious position when he signed. He felt Juventus bombed him out too quickly (for financial reasons, mainly) and he wasn’t left with much choice but to go to Leeds.

And when he did arrive, McKennie found a club in disarray, chopping and changing managers (he played under three in four months) and saw his best pal Tyler Adams injured for the rest of the season a few weeks into his arrival. The impact on his form after the loss of Adams cannot be understated enough, while the removal of Marsch from the Leeds hotseat also had a significant bearing, especially as he’d signed specifically to play under his countryman.

But with results on the decline and Leeds needing a hero, McKennie just looked lost in a side that was fast running out of confidence and losing far too many games by worrying scorelines.

The player also took some stick from Leeds fans, mainly around his physical condition and the fact he was brought in under the recommendation of unpopular boss Marsch. He found that hard, and the situation was made worse when his best friend outside of football got involved with some fans on social media over his weight, while his father was also very vocal in defending his son – actions which did little to ease tensions and, ultimately, McKennie’s form.

At Manchester United, McKennie’s best position of an all-phase No 8 would be where he would play. Right now, Kobbie Mainoo plays in this position and receives the ball from deep on the half turn then progresses the ball forwards through either his carrying or passing. It’s important for this role that the player is technically secure and press resistant. They’re the metronome of the team.

McKennie definitely wouldn’t displace Mainoo in the starting XI; he’d be his backup/rotation option. But all the above traits, McKennie has just to a lesser level.

Mainoo has been a bright spark in a poor season for Manchester United. With so much maturity and ability to not be phased by high pressure situations, he’s thrived since being given more opportunities to play for the first team. But Mainoo is still so young at only 18 years old. He needs time and needs rotating.

Too much pressure and too many minutes whilst he’s still so young could be detrimental to his progression, especially his physical development. McKennie could come into the team in cup games or be subbed in for Mainoo to give him rest time for more important games.

McKennie also fits their current set-up of a double pivot in a 4-2-3-1 or if they move to a 4-3-3 under a new manager or Ten Hag, McKennie can be one of the 8s. McKennie is a very versatile player, but at Manchester United he wouldn’t play in the No 10 or No 6 position much. He isn’t creative or decisive enough to be a No 10 and isn’t technically secure enough or has enough ball-winning prowess to be a No 6 for an elite team. However, in a worst case scenario McKennie could be cover for injuries and even at right-back too.

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