Arsenal or Leeds or Where would Weston McKennie be better suited?

Comment: Weston McKennie. Of all the Juventus players being linked with a transfer in the club’s current situation, it seems to be the American international capable of securing a new deal as early as the January transfer window. The USMNT midfielder has been linked with Leeds United and London Arsenal. But where would he be better suited?

Juventus of Turin are not having the best of times. The troubles associated with artificially inflating player prices to “optimise” the books are well documented. From a sporting perspective, the most interesting is the 15-point deduction that relegated the team to its current 11th place in the table.

So the European Cups for next season are rather out of the question, the Champions League complete science fiction. It wouldn’t be a big surprise, therefore, if clubs from all over Europe descended on Juventus to try and lure their mainstays away from not perhaps a sinking steamer, but certainly a properly battered barge.

McKennie to the Premier League?

Alongside all the stars though, perhaps a little surprisingly, Weston McKennie seems to be the first of the players to secure a new deal. A pair of Premier League clubs are thought to be interested in McKennie, the 24-year-old United States international who joined Juventus in July 2021.

Specifically, Arsenal and Leeds United. But where could the former Schalke 04 midfielder, originally from Dallas FC’s academy, fit in better?

Arsenal as one of the ideal options

Let’s take a look at Arsenal first. Their midfield is very narrow. Only Mohamed Elneny and Sambi Lokonga are waiting on the bench behind the starting duo of Partey, Xhaka. While one is always a responsible patch and the other can still grow into a reliable mainstay of the team, the consensus in the football community is that the Gunners should shore up the midfield in January if they want to improve their chances of challenging for the league title.

McKennie could be a good fit in that regard. The current Granit Xhaka update that the Swiss midfielder has enjoyed in recent months under coach Arteta’s tutelage is not much like McKennie. However, he is not necessarily typologically far from Thomas Partey.

It is important to mention that McKennie has not had much luck in his career. He made his breakthrough in the jersey of Schalke, who admittedly finished second in the Bundesliga during his time there in the 17/18 season, but in the following years came an inevitable decline that resulted in relegation shortly after the departure of their American all-rounder.

He also didn’t plan his involvement with Juventus quite ideally. Two fourth-place finishes accompanied by a seemingly frustrating display of play ended this year’s season full of off-field troubles.

A few lines above, I referred to McKennie as a versatile player. Even at Juventus, he showed that he can also play as an outside midfielder. However, it was at Schalke where he tried almost every position on the pitch. Outside of midfield, he played on the right and left side of midfield, the right-back position, at one time he played regularly at stopper and twice ran onto the pitch as a top striker.

So there are several variations of McKennie when looking back at his stats. It’s safe to say that he could replace Partey defensively to an acceptable degree. He’s more likely to block and kick the ball himself than collect it off his feet. However, his traditional defensive numbers have been higher in the past.

Potential transfer to Leeds

Particularly in 2016/17, when he helped an extremely defensive-playing Schalke to a second-place finish. Even setting aside that very unrepresentative year, this year his numbers are at an all-time low in terms of game performance. So we can expect them to increase in his new position.

Where he lags far behind Partey is in the ball game. McKennie receives passes and helps his team move higher up the field that way rather than sending them out. He is also keen to float out in the opposition’s penalty area and either threaten to score himself or, especially in earlier seasons, create goal scoring opportunities for teammates.

For these reasons too, he might be a better alternative to the Adams, Roca pairing at Leeds United. Arsenal, however, would certainly be able to make proper use of McKennie’s skills. Mainly because of their lack of them in his position.

Jesse Marsch’s Leeds, however, can offer a similarly exclusive role in the team, as outside of the aforementioned pair we regularly see in the starting line-up, they can only rely on Mateusz Klich and Adam Forshaw as alternatives off the bench. So it’s not exactly breathtaking quality in the width of the squad.

McKennie could then suitably replace both Adams’ defensive contributions, though certainly not to the same extent. Adams is one of the most active midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues, but so too is Marco Roca in his role ahead of the dedicated six. The parameters described above would predispose him to do a little better after all.

What does the latest information say?

According to La Republica, McKennie is supposed to be in London to negotiate one of the transfers being discussed. Journalist Manuel Veth, a guru on player transfers linked to the Bundesliga, reinforces the information with his claim that McKennie has already said his goodbyes to his teammates in Turin.

However, the farewell may not be permanent, as information is circulating the networks contradicting, or at least delaying, La Republica’s report that the sale of McKennie would bring Juventus €30 million. Multiple personalities agree that Leeds are interested in hosting the player with an option. However, none of the promoters of this claim refer to one specific source.

The saga of McKennie’s transfer to the Premier League could thus become even more complicated, and with the deadline looming, there still seems to be room open for drama in the final hours. However, both favoured clubs could make proper use of McKennie’s ability and a move to either club would probably be a step in the right direction.

Although, to my eye at least, a club from the north of England seems a slightly better option after all, the prospect of a first career league title could be a big attraction.

Sources: La Republica, Transfermarkt, Manuel Veth – Twitter