Weston McKennie has “technical” flaws in his game, admits Massimiliano Allegri, but the USMNT star can be “devastating” for Juventus.
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Clean slate in Turin after Leeds loanVersatility being put to good useSerie A title challenge pieced togetherWHAT HAPPENED?
The United States international has seen his slate wiped clean in Turin for 2023-24. McKennie spent the second half of last season suffering relegation out of the Premier League during a loan spell at Leeds and appeared destined to be on the move in the summer transfer window.
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Allegri has handed the American a second chance in Italy, and the versatile 25-year-old has grabbed that with both hands. Despite being more at home in the middle of the park, McKennie has been impressing in an unnatural right wing-back berth – where he competes with international colleague Tim Weah for minutes.
WHAT THEY SAID
Juve are delighted to see McKennie proving his worth, as they piece together a Serie A title challenge, with Allegri telling reporters of how he has rekindled the spark in a once fading light: “Wes is having a good season, I think he is maturing too after the experience on loan. I spoke to him too, he has physical strength that helps cover for a few technical errors, but when running into space, he can be devastating. I told him at the start of the season that this was a very important year for him, he would be a wing-back and so he had to run back and forth. He put himself at our disposal.”
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McKennie has figured in all 12 of Juventus’ Serie A fixtures this season, helping them to a 29-point haul that has the Bianconeri sat second in the table – two points adrift of league leaders and arch-rivals Inter.